Some Kind of Wonderful
by singitanyway13
Summary: Everyone has their own definition of wonderful. Some understandable. Some not.
1. Chapter 1

**- Some Kind of Wonderful -**

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one...Happy New Year!"

Gathered around the television with party hats and party blowers, the Hart-Montgomery family rang in the new year together. Over by her boyfriend of eight months, Reba leaned in for her first kiss of the new year. Rhett Farmer wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, surprising her when he lifted her and spun her around a bit. For a moment, it was just the two of them in the world. Van and Cheyenne and Barbra Jean and Brock were excitedly watching the end of the special on television as Rhett and Reba stared into another's eyes. Rhett was a tall, handsome man a few years older than Reba. His kind nature and quiet manner was what attracted Reba to him. That and his big green eyes and charming smile.

"Did you think we'd make it to the new year?" Rhett asked as he set Reba back on her feet.

She shrugged. "I was hoping we would. I'm not quite ready to let you go yet."

Rhett smiled and kissed her once more. "Well, then maybe I'll get the answer I want when I ask you my next question."

"What's that?"

Her hands slid from his toned biceps to his shoulders as he proceeded to reach into his jacket and make his way onto one knee.

"What are you doing?" She asked, her voice almost a whisper. As if she wanted to keep what he was doing a secret despite her family sitting mere feet away.

He held out a little round box. "About to piss my pants," Was his response. His face was flushed and Reba could see that he was sweating a bit. His nervousness was apparent.

As Reba looked over the top of his head, she saw her family looking at them intently. Cheyenne and Barbra Jean were both smiling and elbowing each other, as if they already knew while Van had a smile on his face as well. Brock just looked at Reba. If she wasn't mistaken, his eyes looked a bit dim.

"I know we've only been together a short time," Rhett began. "But I feel like we've known each other for years. I hope you know that you're my best friend. And it would make me the happiest man in the world if you would be my wife."

He opened the box and held up a diamond engagement ring. It was bigger than the one Brock had given to her years before, but it meant very little. She hadn't even thought they were at this point in their relationship. Like he said, it had only been a short time since they first met. Marriage was the last thing on her mind, if it was even there at all.

"What do you say?" He asked, holding the ring between his thumb and index finger.

Nine months back, Reba had met Rhett at an office party his restaurant had catered for. From her table in her party dress, Reba watched the cute chef up on the small stage talk about how thankful he was to get to cater such a get together and he hoped everyone enjoyed what he and his team had created. She thought it was very considerate of him to do so, and that was one of the things she loved about him most. He was very humble.

She looked over the top of his head to see Cheyenne with a hand over her mouth, her eyes smiling. It was like everyone was sending her good thoughts, trying to prompt her to say yes. But she didn't want to. She didn't love him.

"Yes."

Rhett smiled and stood, slipping the ring on her finger as everyone hooped and hollered. He wrapped her up in a hug, kissing her just like he had moments before.

"This calls for a toast!" Van announced, raising his beer.

And they all toasted to the newly engaged couple. But Reba had other things to think about. Like how she was going to tell him that she couldn't marry him. She wished he hadn't proposed to her in front of everyone. Letting him down easy wasn't an option anymore because she had already said yes. Had he asked her in a private setting, she could have explained herself a bit more and they could have walked away with no hurt feelings. She might not have loved him, but she did care about his feelings and she didn't want to hurt him.

But she did have to tell him she really didn't mean to say yes. Or should she, anyway?

* * *

><p>A week later, Reba sat at her desk at work. Pictures of her and Rhett and the kids sat around the edge so that her clients could see and so that she could always have them around. But now she seriously considered getting rid of the ones of her and her new fiance. She still hadn't broke the news to him and still didn't know how.<p>

A knock at her office door brought her out of her thoughts.

"Come in."

She sat back in her chair as Brock walked in, closing the door behind him.

"What's up?" He asked, sitting down in one of the chairs she had in front of her desk.

"I'm working. What do you think is up?"

He looked at her. "I was just asking. Jeez. That time of the month?"

"No. It is not that time of the month, Brock."

"Then why are you being so snippy?"

"I've just been thinking a lot."

Brock sat back in the chair, crossing his ankles and folding his arms. "About what?"

She sighed. "Nothing. What did you need?"

He shrugged. "Just came to chat."

Reba gave him a look. "Brock. Seriously."

He sighed once more. "Fine. It's me and Barbra Jean."

Reba rolled her eyes and held up hand. "Say no more. I'm officially done being y'all's therapist unless you start paying me by the hour."

"Reba-"

"No, Brock. I have enough on my plate to think about. I don't need to add your problems to it."

"What do you have to think about? Your perfect life, your perfect job, your perfect fiance?"

"Shut up, Brock. You have no idea what you're talking about, as usual. Unless you have something else that doesn't pertain to Barbra Jean to say, you can leave."

"I was just saying."

"Yeah, well...you can just go. I'm busy here." She absentmindedly twisted her engagement ring around her finger.

Brock stayed in his chair a moment longer. "It's about Rhett, isn't it?"

"What?" Reba turned to her computer, not making eye contact with him.

"The reason you're upset. He said something stupid, didn't he?"

Reba scoffed, but didn't offer any explanation.

"What did he do?" Brock prompted. "You can tell me, Reba."

She shrugged, tapping the mouse a few times.

"Did he say your dress made you look fat?"

"No."

"Did he forget your anniversary?"

"No."

"Did he accidentally mow down your azaleas?"

"No."

"Then what did he do?"

"He asked me to marry him!"

Brock was quiet for a moment. He just watched her as she turned her gaze from her computer screen to him.

"Why was that wrong?" He finally asked, not quite understanding what she meant.

"I don't love him."

Brock's eyes went wide and he nodded, sitting back. "Ohhhh. I get it." He folded his arms before saying, "Then why did you say yes?"

"Because he asked me in front of all of you. What was I supposed to do? Say no and humiliate him?"

"No, but you weren't supposed to say yes if you don't love him."

Reba shook her head, looking away from him. "I shouldn't even be talking to you about this. It's none of your business."

"I'm your best friend, Reba."

"No. No, you're not."

"Whether or not you want to admit it, I am, alright? I have been for thirty years and I always will be. Can we please recognize that and stop sweeping it under the rug? Everybody knows. It's not a big secret."

"Brock, what's your point?"

"Just be open with me. You said you're done being mine and Barbra Jean's therapist. Well, let me try being yours. I think I owe it to you."

"Brock, you can't even figure out your own relationship."

"Give me a chance, Red."

Reba rolled her eyes and turned the monitor off, pushing her chair away from her desk. "Fine. Counsel me."

"Alright. First things first: have you slept with him?"

"Brock!"

"Just answer me."

"I'm not going to."

"He wouldn't sleep with you, huh?"

"Yes, we've slept together. Next question."

"When a woman sleeps with a guy, they automatically think that the girl is interested in him. We're simple creatures. We don't over-think things. Here's our mindset if a girl sleeps with us: 'We've been together almost a year. I love this girl and now she wants to sleep with me. Which is cool. We're gonna make love 'cause we're so in love.' That's how men think when they fall in love. Now, if they're just dating, that's another thing, but I think that Rhett really loves you. So that's his thought process."

"That's a stupid way of thinking."

"Aren't you the ones who taught our children not to make love if you're not in it?"

"I'm pushing fifty, Brock. What am I supposed to do? Wait around forever for something that might not happen?"

"What are you saying?"

"I might not tell him I'm not ready. I might just go for it."

"What?"

"I'm not getting any younger, Brock. If he wants to marry me, I'm gonna let him. Who knows if I'll ever find somebody I actually love again. I don't want to be alone and pathetic. He's safe. I'll learn to love him."

"That's scary."

Reba shrugged. "Well, it's not your life."

"You deserve to be with somebody you love, Reba."

"Just let me live my life, alright?"

"You can't live a life like that."

"It's not like he abuses me. I do care for him."

"Not only is it not fair to you, it's not fair to him."

"Why? He'll be getting what he wants."

Brock sat back and shook his head. "The Reba I used to know never would have done this. Not in a million years."

"Things have changed in the eleven years we've been divorced."

"Apparently."

Reba stood up from her chair, shaking her head. "I have to get back to work, Brock." She walked past him to open her office door. "If you don't mind..."

Brock sighed loudly, but got up. However, he didn't have any intention of leaving. Instead, he gently closed the door.

"Seriously, Brock-"

"Stop," He said, standing in front of her. He took her left hand in his and held it up. "Do you see this ring? If it means nothing to you, you need to tell him. You're gonna regret getting married to him if you don't really want to. I promise you."

She jerked her hand out of his. "Stop trying to control me. We're not married anymore and you don't have any say in what I do."

"It will just cause problems for everyone. I'm trying to help you."

"I didn't ask for your help. You're the one who barged in here and started telling me what I need to do and how I need to do it!"

Brock hung his head, placing his hand on the door right near her shoulder. He could smell her perfume and it was getting hard to control his thoughts. He was in such a vulnerable state with his relationship with Barbra Jean. It would be so easy to just let himself go and do what he wanted.

Raising his head, Brock's eyes met Reba's and he saw how sad they seemed to be. He knew Rhett was good to her, but he knew they weren't meant for one another. He knew that simply because Reba and himself were soul-mates. He had always known that. From the moment he first laid eyes on her, he knew that they were made for each other. But Reba wasn't having any of it and Brock was at a very scary place. He knew what to do to save her from making a horrible decision, but it could ultimately destroy everything that they already had going; good, bad or otherwise.

With his left hand, he touched her cheek gently. She flinched at first, but relaxed after a second.

"What are you doing?" She asked, staring at him intently.

"Trying to help you." He leaned forward and nuzzled her neck.

"I don't want your help." She tried to push him away, but he was persistent. "You can't do this. You're married and I'm engaged."

"To people we both don't want to be with." He met her eyes. "Why can't we be happy for a little while?"

"Who says I want to be with you?"

"Don't you?"

"No. You're mean and you're egotistical, you lie and you cheat. Why would I want to be with you?"

"Because I'm all you've ever known."

"See? Egotistical."

"Yeah, but I'm not safe."

* * *

><p>She kept thinking about all the things Brock had brought to her attention that evening. Rhett had come over for dinner and had stayed to help her clean up.<p>

"Have you thought any more about a date yet?" He asked as he loaded the dishwasher.

Reba still sat at her kitchen table, her plate still in front of her. All she kept thinking about was how Brock's hand had felt against her cheek earlier.

"A date for what?"

Rhett momentarily stopped loading the dishwasher. "For our wedding."

"Oh! No, I haven't thought much about it. There's no need to rush."

"Don't you want to do this as soon as possible?"

Reba stood up, taking her plate to the sink. "I don't know. Why can't we take it slow?"

"Because it's a wedding and we're in love. I want to be your husband as soon as I can. I've helped plan two weddings. It's not that hard."

Reba looked up at him. "You've been married more than once?"

"Almost. I was engaged twice, but married once. I guess you could call my second fiancee a runaway bride. Got cold feet the night before the wedding and called it off."

Reba went back to rinsing her plate and the rest of the dishes in the sink. "I didn't know that."

"Yeah. It was pretty crazy."

"I guess so."

Rhett continued to talk about his former fiancee as Reba thought about how many other things she didn't know about him. God only knew what other things he hadn't told her yet, and here she was getting ready to marry him.

_It'll be fine_, Reba told herself. _Brock will quit bothering me eventually and I'll get used to being with Rhett. It's not like he's a horrible guy. He's nice and sweet and he's good to me._

_"He's safe."_

Brock's words kept floating through her mind.

_"Do you see this ring? If it means nothing to you, you need to tell him."_

Before she knew it, Rhett had finished loading the dishwasher and began making his way to the living room where Reba followed him without even thinking about it. Mindlessly, Reba twisted the ring on her finger as she sat down on the couch with Rhett.

"What's wrong?" He asked, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her to lean on his shoulder.

She shook her head. "Nothing." Looking up, she asked, "Why?"

"You're quiet. You're never quiet. Ever. Unless you're upset about something. In which case, you can tell me."

She shook her head, reaching forward to grab the remote from the coffee table, clicking the television on. The evening news drowned out the awkward silence that filled the room. Rhett sighed, taking the remote from her and turning the TV back off.

"I was watching that," Reba protested, sitting up straight.

Rhett threw the remote back to where it had laid moments before. "Please tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing is wrong." She looked at him sharply. "If you're going to marry me, you should know that when I'm quiet, it means I'm tired, not pissed off."

Rhett flinched. "I've never heard you cuss before."

Reba shrugged.

"Do you do that often, or is it a habit you've picked up somewhere?"

Reba stood up from the couch with a sigh. "Rhett, I'm tired. Can we please just talk tomorrow?"

"You want me to leave?"

Reba threw her head back. "Don't make it sound like I don't want to be around you. I'm just tired. I had a long day."

Rhett stood as well. "Then let me help you with that. I had planned on staying the night."

Reba looked up at him. He towered over her, clearing six feet by two inches. "Not tonight, okay?"

He ignored her and wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning down to peck her lips. "You know you want to." He tried to deepen the kiss but she shook her head.

"No." She pulled away and put her hands on his strong arms, tightening her grip and trying to force him to let go. When he finally did, she saw the hurt mixed with confusion in his eyes. Carefully, she laced her fingers with his and explained further.

"I think I'm getting sick. I had a long day...a long week, actually, and I just don't feel up to it. Maybe you can stay over this weekend."

Rhett finally nodded, pulling her close for one last kiss before he told her he loved her. She reciprocated and then he was gone.

Closing the door behind him as he walked out, she leaned against the door frame, sliding to the floor, hearing her ex-husband's words once more.

_"He's safe."_

The whole thing had been a test. She craved nothing more than a man to make her feel like a woman and Rhett was supposed to do that. He was supposed to tell her that they could go upstairs, he could give her a nice massage and they could make sweet love. That's what she had wanted him to say even though she told him the exact opposite. She felt that she shouldn't have to ask for what she wanted. A partner was just supposed to know.

But she supposed the thing that hurt her most was that she knew Brock would have stayed. Because he had before. He wasn't safe. Never had been, never will be.

* * *

><p><strong>I don't have much to say other than I hope this story isn't a train-wreck. <strong>


	2. Chapter 2

Two days later, Barbra Jean and Cheyenne convinced Reba to go downtown with them, as they were eager to start dress shopping. They drug her to a little boutique and started shoving her into all sorts of dresses, telling her which ones looked best and budgeting so she could get the one that she wanted. Reba was torn between getting an off white dress or a beige one. With all the stress of marrying a man she didn't really love so she could live a "safe" life, making such a simple decision suddenly felt like rocket science.

"I really like that white off the shoulder one," Barbra Jean said after the three had been at the shop for over an hour.

"Barbra Jean," Reba said, flopping into a chair by the fitting rooms. "For the hundredth time, I am not wearing white. This is my second marriage, okay?"

"Then why not get that beige one with the straight skirt?" Cheyenne commented, pointing over her shoulder at one of the first dresses her mother tried on. "It's simple and it's so you."

"Maybe you should try it on again," Barbra Jean said, standing to grab the dress and hand it to Reba who rolled her eyes but snatched it up anyway.

"Fine," She said. "But this is the last dress I'm trying on."

And with that, she left the seating area to go into one of the fitting rooms. Once in there, she locked the door and unzipped the dress she had on and let it fall to the floor before slipping the one Cheyenne liked best back on for the second time. Looking in the mirror, she couldn't deny her daughter's eye for fashion. Of the seven or so dresses she had tried on, the beige one definitely looked best. If fit her figure and looked great with her hair, plus it was fairly inexpensive.

Sighing, she found herself wondering if Rhett would like it. She wasn't exactly sure what he liked her in yet. Brock, however, made it abundantly clear what he liked her to wear when they were married and the dress she had on certainly didn't make the cut.

"Who cares, though?" She said, whispering to herself. "Brock's opinion doesn't matter now. I'll learn what Rhett likes and doesn't like. Just like any other newlywed couple. It's no different."

A knock sounded at the door and Reba absentmindedly called out, telling whoever that she'd be right out.

"It's me."

She turned around, the closed door staring her in the face, Brock's voice ringing through her ears. Quickly, she unlocked the door and cracked it.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

He was leaning up against the door frame, fresh from work in his wrinkled trousers. "I came by to get Henry. Barbra Jean mentioned wanting to go to dinner with you and Cheyenne without having to keep up with him. I told her I'd meet her here after work, but I wanted to talk to you first." He pushed on the door a little, trying to get her to move out of the way and walk in, but she wasn't having it.

"Why are you wanting in here?"

He shrugged. "Just thought we could talk. We never talk anymore."

"Why don't you just take Henry home? Barbra Jean's probably getting suspicious with you being back here talking all low."

"She doesn't even know I'm here yet. I came in the back entrance, alright. Now are you going to let me in or not?"

Reluctantly, Reba backed away and Brock walked in, letting the door latch behind him. Reba didn't know why they had to talk in here alone when there was a perfectly good seating area just around the corner. But as Brock stared at her, she began to realize why. She had seen that look in his eye before. She knew exactly what he came here for.

"Where you talking to yourself in here a minute ago?" He asked.

"No."

"Yes, you were. Why?"

"Why do you think, Brock?" She folded her arms in front of her. "I'm shopping for a dress for a wedding I don't want to happen. I'm surprised I haven't started talking to myself sooner. I'm going crazy."

Brock folded his arms as well. "Shouldn't that be a sign that maybe you shouldn't go along with this?"

"Please just let it go. I have to do this, Brock. You don't understand, okay? Let me live my life and you live yours."

"What part of you will regret it do you not understand?"

"Don't talk to me like that. I'm not your eighteen year old wife anymore."

"You sure do act like it sometimes."

She scoffed. "I don't have to answer to you. You have no idea what you're talking about. You've never been in this situation before."

"Reba, I regret marrying Barbra Jean, okay? I regret it all. I know what it's like to feel like you have to marry someone. I know what it feels like to think that there's no way out. But there is a way out. Just don't do it. Don't get trapped."

Reba was silent. She knew he had regrets, but about his marriage? She knew his love for Barbra Jean was different than his one-time love for her, but to say he wished he'd never married her...

"And," He continued. "I'm not letting you out until you agree with me." He stood in front of the door, his arms folded across his chest, chin up. He was grinning, though, trying to make light of the conversation.

Reba just smiled lightly before sighing, glancing at him. That was when he lowered his chin.

"Why are you so quiet all of a sudden? Are you tired?"

With that, Reba's eyes filled with tears as she backed up to the little bench in the fitting room and practically fell onto it, burying her face in her hands. Brock immediately unfolded his arms and knelt in front of her, placing his hands on her arms.

"Hey, what's wrong? Is it something I said?"

She nodded through the sobs, remembering her conversation with Rhett two days before. About how he thought her quietness was just her being pissed off. The fact that Brock knew her so well made her just want to come unglued. Why everything had to go south with him, she didn't know.

"What did I say, then?" He asked, trying to pull her hands away from her face.

She explained through the tears and finally looked up at him, nose red, eyes puffy. Brock just wiped her tears away with his hand until she leaned forward to hug him, letting a new mess of tears come over her. He placed a hand on top of her head, the other on her back, and held her and let her cry. He understood her battle and hated that she had to go through it.

After a moment, she pulled back, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry," She said, wiping at his collar. "I'm getting mascara all over your shirt." She sniffed as she tried to wipe the makeup away, but Brock just shook his head.

"It's fine. I'll take it to the cleaner's later."

Continuing to wipe her eyes, Reba nodded, looking up at him. "I'm sorry, Brock. I shouldn't put all this on you. It's not right of me."

"Best friends listen. And I always will."

Reba took a deep breath, trying to compose herself before sitting up straight. "It's okay, though. I'm fine. Everybody has their moments, I guess." She tried to smile. "You better get Henry before Barbra Jean has a panic attack. He's been driving her crazy."

Brock just smiled sadly along with her. "I guess. She's blaming ADD, but I'm not buying it. I blame all the candy she lets him have." He winked as he grabbed her hand and stood, watching her eyes carefully as she stood with him.

"You always blamed Kyra's behavior on ADD, ADHD and whatever else you could come up with."

"I was still in school when she was young. I was learning everything they could teach me about the medical field, what do you expect? I'm surprised I didn't diagnose her with something else."

They shared a brief laugh before Brock reached behind him and opened the door of the fitting room. "See you later, Red."

* * *

><p>Several days later, Reba was babysitting Elizabeth and her brother, Kasey, while Cheyenne and Van went out to see a movie. It had been kind of lonely in the house with Kyra off at college and Jake running around with his friends all the time. Sure, Rhett was around when he wasn't at his own home or at work, but he wasn't the kind of company Reba wanted to associate herself with.<p>

As she watched her grandchildren play in the living room, Reba sat on the couch watching the movie she had put in for them to listen to. She had to admit that Finding Nemo was cute the first time, but the forty-eighth time? Not so much. She could quote the thing word for word, line for line. And so could Elizabeth.

But here and there, she'd tune the noise out and reflect on how she'd adjust to her new life with Rhett. But eventually, she just started thinking in circles. Who'd move in with who, where his dog would go, how her name sounded with his last name. Things like that. Things that didn't get her very far peace of mind wise.

As she was lost in thought, her phone started going off. It was a text message from Brock.

**If you have an open mind, **it read, **I have a question to ask you.**

Reba thought a minute before responding.

**What is it?**

Seconds later, the response came.

**I'd really like to discuss it over dinner, if that's alright.**

Reba almost rolled her eyes. Why he had to be so mysterious sounding all the time, she didn't know. But it did make her want to know what he was thinking, which pissed her off even more.

**Fine. My house tomorrow. I'll tell Van and Cheyenne, you bring Barbra Jean.**

**No, **He replied, **This doesn't need to be a family thing. Just me and you.**

**I don't like where this is going.**

She could almost hear the irritation his voice would have had, had he been talking to her face to face. **Just keep an open mind. Meet me at that Italian place you like at six tomorrow. Are you free then?**

Reba almost responded with a yes, but remembered her date with Rhett. He had set it up a few days before, saying they needed a fun outing before the stress of the wedding planning began.

**I did, **She said instead, **But I can get out of it.**

**Good. See you then. ;)**

That time, she did roll her eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>Six reviews is more than I expected so I'd say this is going well. Thanks. (:<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, babe, whatcha up to?"

Reba looked up from her vanity mirror to see Rhett in the reflection. Turning around, she said, "What are you doing here? I told you I had something come up."

Rhett walked into the room and sat on Reba's bed as she turned around to face him.

"I know," He responded. "But I just thought I'd come over anyway and see if Jake wanted to go to the movies with me. I already bought the tickets. Might as well put them to good use." He rested his elbows on his knees, leaning forward. "Where are you headed?"

Reba turned back around and went back to applying her makeup. "Dinner with a friend."

She was happy Rhett didn't ask which friend. She wasn't sure she wanted to outright lie to him. Surely he wouldn't be happy she was going out with her ex-husband.

"Well, have fun. Jake and I might grab something to eat before the movie."

"I'm sure he'll like that. If he's even here. I haven't seen him since he left for school this morning."

She stood and walked to her bathroom to put the finishing touches on her hair. Rhett watched her from the bedroom as she proceeded to pull her hair up and pin it back with a clip.

"I like your hair down," He told her.

She looked to her left and saw that he had moved from the bed to the doorway of the bathroom. "Do what?"

"Your hair. I like it down." He smiled and she had to force one of her own.

"But Bro- Barbra Jean likes my hair up." Her heart started beating faster as she realized she almost told her fiance that Brock liked her hair up. That would have been hard to explain.

"Are you marrying Barbra Jean?" He smiled and gave her a quick kiss. "Wear it down for me? Since you broke our date and all." He gave her a playful, pouty look.

"Okay..." She said as she slowly let her hair down. "I'll wear it down. For you."

He grabbed her hands and pulled her closer to him. "Thank you." He rested his hands on her hips as hers made their way around his neck.

"You're welcome." She initiated another kiss before saying, "You know I'd do anything for you. You just have to ask."

"How about you stay home and we can stop taking this empty house for granted."

"Except that."

"Baby, come on."

She cringed at his pet name for her. She had always hated cutesy nicknames and always chewed Brock out when he used them when they were married.

"We have our whole marriage for stuff like that."

He smiled as Reba tried to compose herself after her remark.

"Very true, and like the way you think, but I'll be here when you get back. Sound good?" He winked.

She nodded. "Fine. But we play by my rules, got it?"

They shared one more kiss and Reba found herself thinking about if she had more time to get closer to him, it might lead to marriage anyway. But there was no backing out now. What if she hurt him and he left and then she was alone forever? That was one of her worst fears. Being all alone.

* * *

><p>Reba pulled into the restaurant with a few minutes to spare and spotted Brock standing out front, waiting for her. When she walked up to him, she saw him start to smile.<p>

"Hey," He said. "You look great tonight."

"Thanks," She responded. "You...too?"

He laughed. "I wasn't looking for a compliment back."

"I know. But I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it."

"You always said honesty was the best policy." He winked and opened the door for her. "After you."

She caught the little jab he made and scoffed quietly, but went inside anyway. Brock stepped up to the hostess and gave her his name, explaining that he had made a reservation the day before.

"I'm sorry, sir," The hostess told him. "There was a computer error and as it turns out, the table we booked you for had already been claimed. I'm terribly sorry."

"That's fine," Brock said. "Do you have a different table available in that section? It doesn't have to be that specific one. I just want it to be by the window."

"I'm sorry," The woman said again. "Fridays are our busiest nights. The wait is an hour if you want to take a beeper. We'll buzz it when a table is ready."

"An hour? Are you kidding me?"

Reba had been listening quietly beside Brock, but touched his arm gently when his temper began to rise.

"Brock, it's fine. We can go somewhere else." She looked at the hostess. "Just take his name off the list."

"I do apologize," The hostess said again. "For the trouble, on your next visit, we'll take ten percent off your meal. Just mention my name, alright?"

Brock, still noticeably upset, nodded and said, "Thanks, anyway."

He turned and walked out, Reba walking out behind him.

"I'm sorry," He told her as the evening air hit them in the face. "I was looking forward to having a nice dinner and talk with you." He sat down on a bench outside while Reba stood in front of him.

"Do you want to go somewhere else?" She asked. "There's that burger place just down the road."

Brock looked down at his slacks and dress shirt before glancing up at her in her skirt and blouse. "Are we really dressed for Whattaburger?"

Reba laughed. "What do they care what we wear? Come on. I'm hungry."

Brock grinned and stood. "Fine. But when we come here next time, we're wearing jeans just in case."

Ten minutes later, they both pulled into Whattaburger, parked their vehicles and went inside together. After ordering, they sat at a booth in the back and started talking.

"So," Reba said. "What did you want to ask me?"

Brock wiped his hands on a napkin and took a drink of soda before answering. "I was just wondering if there were someone else, would you consider not marrying Rhett?"

Reba rolled her eyes and gave a big sigh, leaning back in the booth. "Brock, can we please not discuss this here? Or anywhere, for that matter?"

"Just answer me."

"Why? Why does it even matter? Why do you care so much? It's like you're obsessed with mine and Rhett's relationship."

"Oh, no, I'm not jealous of a relationship that's nonexistent. I can promise you that."

"Then why do you care? I just wish that we could talk about the things we used to talk about for once."

"Like what?"

"Our jobs, the kids, reality TV."

"We never used to talk about reality TV."

"Well, I'd rather talk about that than this. Could you respect that?"

"Yes. Can you answer my question, though?"

"No. I'm done with this. And if you keep asking me about it, I'm leaving." She looked him dead in the eye. "You know I will, too."

"No, you won't. Because if the answer to my question wasn't a yes, you wouldn't be here. Am I right?"

She was silent a moment before answering him. "I don't know, Brock. I feel like I could be with him without all these emotions if he hadn't asked me to marry him. Everything was going great before New Year's. I was really getting to know him and like him, then he popped the question. Right in front of everybody. How was I supposed to say no to him and embarrass him in front of you all? I wasn't going to do it. I wouldn't want it done to me, but then again, I would because I wouldn't want someone else to go through what I'm going through right now. It's all so complicated and I have to deal with it all alone because I can't tell him. I can't tell him I don't want to marry him."

"Why not? Just let him know you aren't ready."

"What if he gets upset and leaves? I couldn't take that again." She looked down, not wanting him to see the tears that were starting to form in her eyes.

Brock sighed, understanding that he played a small role in this. "Reba, I'm sorry you have to deal with this. I really am. And I hope you know that the only reason I keep bothering you about it is because I truly care. You know that, right?"

She looked up. "Yeah." Her voice was shaky as she said, "I know. I just don't like talking about it."

"Sometimes that helps, though."

She shook her head. "Not in this case."

As silence took over the table, Reba heard a familiar voice coming from across the room. It sounded like Jake. Craning her neck so that she could see, her eyes took her to the entrance where she saw her son and Rhett enter the building. Her eyes got big and she sunk down in her seat.

Brock noticed her behavior and realized she was looking over his shoulder. He turned his head but Reba slapped at his arm.

"Stop it! Don't look behind you!"

"Why not?"

"Get down!"

"Why?"

"Rhett's over there with Jake. I don't want him seeing us together."

"We're not doing anything wrong."

"Just get down!"

Brock reluctantly sunk down in his own seat with a ticked off look on his face. What had originally been planned as a nice evening out to a fancy restaurant, had turned into a night in a fast food joint hiding from his ex's fiance.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry about all the trouble. I have no idea why the chapter wasn't showing up, but it is now, so thanks for reading. (:<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

They managed to sneak out without being seen, but when they got back to Reba's car, Brock was confused.

"Why didn't you want him seeing us?" He asked. "We weren't doing anything wrong."

Reba dug through her purse for her keys. "How do you think he'd like it if he knew I broke our date to go to dinner with you?" She looked up after failing to find her keys. "Did I give you my keys?"

Brock patted his pockets. "No."

She sighed and went back to searching as Brock said, "Look, Reba, if I knew going out tonight was going to make you all weird, I wouldn't have asked you. I didn't know this would be a big deal. I thought you were over me."

She slowly looked up. "I am."

"If you were, being seen with me wouldn't be a big deal because the thought of us doing something wouldn't be in your mind. But obviously it is because you didn't want Rhett to see us. Isn't that a bit odd?"

"What are you getting at here, Brock?" Reba located her keys and slung her purse over her shoulder.

"Do you remember the question I asked you in there?"

"About there being someone else? Yes. Why?"

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"You never answered me."

"Yes, I did."

"No, you danced around a half answer. You never gave me a yes or a no."

"Well, you never answered my question either."

"And what was your question?"

"Why do you care?" She turned and unlocked her car door, climbing in and starting the engine. She went to shut the door but Brock caught it before she could.

"I care because I care for you. Barbra Jean and mine's relationship as a married couple is over, Reba. It was over before it even started. I just didn't want to admit it because even though I was miserable, I was comfortable. Does that make sense?"

She nodded and he continued.

"I just wanted some confirmation that I'm not the only one going through that. And now I know I'm not."

Reba sat back in her seat. "Well, what now, Brock? Where do we go from here?" Her tone was sarcastic and Brock knew she was getting irritated, but he also knew she believed him. She was going to cave at his next question.

"Why don't we stop doing what's right for a little while?"

Reba leaned forward and looked at him. He had his forearm on the top of the vehicle, holding the door open with his other hand and his eyes were looking straight into hers. "What did you say?"

"Let me rephrase that. Why don't we stop doing what we _think_ is right for a little while?"

"Where's that going to get us in the end?"

"I don't know the answer to that, but I do know this. I was the most happiest when I was with you."

Reba looked at him and suddenly she was his wife again. He was her husband and they were together. Then she blinked and it changed.

"But what if this 'right thing' is the wrong thing?"

He took his arm off the car and leaned in closer to her. "Why don't we just play it by ear?"

She bit her lip as she thought about her conversation with Rhett about her hair earlier. Staring Brock straight in the face, she reached into her purse and pulled out a hair-tie. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and said, "When have we done anything different?"

So Reba allowed herself to lose her head for a while as Brock drove them to a motel a few blocks away. There, they let themselves stop doing what they thought was the right thing. Reba figured it'd take her awhile to feel guilty because that evening when she got home, there was still no remorse.

Reba walked in the house, hair a mess, the heel on her shoe broken and a few buttons missing from her shirt.

"Hey, baby, you home?" Rhett called from the kitchen as she slammed the front door. He appeared in the doorway moments later. "Damn, what happened to you?"

"It's windy," She simply said as she ascended up the stairs. But not before she tossed her shoes by the front door. As she did so, she recalled doing the same a few hours earlier...

_She didn't mean to kick her heels off that hard, but she winced as they hit the motel room door. Brock ignored it as he undid his tie and took off his belt, laying her down on the bed, crawling over her. _

_"I didn't think you'd say yes," He said with a smile. "But I was hoping you would."_

_"Shut up, Brock. I don't need to hear you yapping right now." She grabbed him by his hair and brought his lips to hers as she wrapped one leg around his waist. _

_He pulled back and grabbed her wrists, pinning them above her head. "You're cute thinking you're running this show."_

_She reared up and rolled them over, pinning his arms above his head. "Right back atcha." She let go of his wrists long enough to unbutton the first few buttons of her shirt which gave him enough time to roll them over once more and rip the rest of the buttons off, sending them flying. _

"Did you enjoy your dinner?" Rhett asked her as he walked into the bedroom with a bottled water.

Nodding absentmindedly, Reba sat on the bed and set her alarm for the next morning.

"Well, good," He said, going to the opposite side of the bed. "So, you still up for what we talked about earlier?"

Reba lazily glanced over her shoulder at him.

_She gasped when the first connection was made. It was better than she had imagined and she didn't know where she was for a moment in time. Nothing really mattered in her world then. And she wished she could feel like that forever. She was so used to dealing with everyone else's problems and questions, but for a few minutes, that time was her own. _

_Brock ran his hands down her sides as she reached up to kiss his face, not caring where her lips landed. _

"Not really."

She stood and walked to the bathroom leaving Rhett standing beside the bed with a bewildered look on his face.

"Okay..." He said slowly, going to the bathroom but stopping short when Reba shut the door in his face. He blinked before leaning close to the door and asking, "Baby, did something happen? Are you okay?"

She sat down on the edge of the tub and closed her eyes. For the first time since Rhett asked her to marry him, she smiled because she was truly happy, if only for that moment.

"I'm just fine."

_"How was that?"_

_Reba looked over at Brock and chuckled, trying to catch her breath._

_"Still need confirmation, huh? Was the end not enough for you?"_

_He nudged her shoulder. "You're mean."_

_"Whatever." She rolled over to face him and leaned her forehead on his shoulder. "I almost wish I could sleep here."_

_He rested his chin on her head. "Like old times." He sighed. "I miss waking up with you."_

_She closed her eyes. "I do, too, sometimes."_

_He wrapped his arm around her waist. "I'm still waiting for your freak-out moment." He laughed but she shook her head. _

_"No. It's too wonderful to ruin with that. Right now, anyway." She lifted her head a bit to look at him. She ran her finger along his jawline before touching his lips with hers, whispering, "I can't promise anything about later, though."_

* * *

><p><strong>I figured I'd go ahead and post since I technically posted last night but it didn't show up until I re-uploaded this morning. So...here's to hoping this uploads without issues.<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

Reba stood at the kitchen counter, placing freshly baked cookies onto parchment paper. She had the day off and nothing to do, so she figured she'd bake something. She was so used to cooking meals for her and Rhett and Jake that she had forgotten how much she loved baking. It was something she used to do for fun, but cooking and baking had become a chore that she rarely enjoyed it.

But today, the sun was shining a bit brighter outside and the birds seemed to chirp just a little louder than usual. It had been a few days since her encounter with Brock and the guilt still hadn't come. She was expecting it, but it was nowhere to be found.

"Hey, Mrs. H."

Reba looked behind her as Van came in through the backdoor wearing his work clothes, carrying a magazine.

"What are you up to?" Reba asked, going back to her cookies.

"Cheyenne sent me bearing cake." He sat down on one of the bar stools. "Pictures of cake, anyway. Oooh. Cookies." He reached out for one, but Reba smacked his hand with the spatula.

"These aren't for you." She glared at him. "What's that?"

He held out the magazine. "Some bridal thing Cheyenne bought at Barnes and Noble. She said to drop it off on my way home today. So here I am."

Reba took it and set down her spatula and cookie pan. Van snuck one while she thumbed through it. There were pictures of wedding cakes, flower arrangements, wedding bands and wedding venues on every page. It was so overwhelming.

"Why did Cheyenne get this for me?" She gave the magazine back to Van. "I don't really need it."

Van shrugged and took a bite of his cookie. "I don't know. I'm just the messenger."

"The wedding is going to be small. I don't really need to plan anything." She looked up and snatched his cookie away from him. "Let her know I appreciate the thought. Thanks but no thanks."

"She told me you'd say this."

"She knows me well."

Van stood and shoved the magazine back her way. "Just keep it. It's what I was sent here to do. If I come back home with that thing, I'll just have to come back, okay?" He began to walk towards the door. "But frankly, Mrs. H, it is a bit odd you don't even want to keep it just to look at for kicks. I mean, what girl doesn't want to fantasize about a dream wedding?" He opened the door. "See ya later."

He closed the door and Reba tapped her finger on the counter in thought, and gently brought the magazine within view with her hand. The cover featured a thin, blonde woman wearing a very princess-y wedding gown with a veil flowing past her shoulders, holding a bouquet of deep red roses. Her smile was bright and she looked so in love. Reba guessed she really was. That was a hard look to fake.

As her cellphone rang, she shoved the magazine away, letting it slide right off the counter.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me."

Reba closed her eyes so she wouldn't roll them. "Hey, Rhett."

"What are you up to? You busy?"

"Nope. Just here at the house. Why?"

"I got something very interesting today. I think you'll like it."

"What is it?"

"Well, the other day, I was watching you play with Elizabeth and Kasey and I see how you're a great mom to Jake. It got me thinking: why can't we have that together?"

Reba's eyes popped open. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I got an adoption pamphlet."

"An...an...an adoption pamphlet?"

"Yeah. Wouldn't that be great to look into? There are thousands of kids in Texas alone that need good, loving homes, Reba. Wouldn't that be great to be able to provide that to the community? Plus, we'd be creating a family together."

"Rhett, you didn't even ask me about this."

"I know, but it's not like I signed any papers or anything. I just got some information on it so we could look it over together."

"But what if I don't want anymore kids? I don't want more kids, Rhett."

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment. Reba sighed and leaned up against the stove.

"I didn't mean to upset you," She said. "It's just that-"

"I don't have kids of my own, Reba."

"I know that, but you can't expect me to-"

"I'm not expecting you to do anything. I just thought we could talk about it. You didn't have to blow up."

"I didn't blow up."

"Okay. You didn't have to be so...upfront about it. I mean, I mention the pamphlet and you tell me right off the bat that you don't want anymore kids."

"Well, I don't."

"Okay, well you don't think you could have said it a little nicer?"

"Last time I checked, I wasn't Willy Wonka. I don't sugar coat things."

"Apparently not..."

"Look, Rhett. We're not even married and you're bringing up kids. Everything's just happening a bit fast for me. I was single for twelve years before you came along. It's like I've gone from the starting position to full speed ahead in two seconds. Even those racecar drivers get at least six seconds to reach full speed."

"I understand. I really do. I'm just excited, you know?"

"I know. We can discuss it later, alright? I don't think this is a conversation to be had over the phone."

"I'll talk to you later, then. I love you."

"Love you, too." She had to force herself to say it as they hung up.

She set the phone down on the counter before stooping down go get the magazine she had dropped. Then she gathered up the cookies on a plate, covered them in tin foil and chunked the magazine in the trash on her way out the backdoor to Brock's house.

* * *

><p>She was relieved when Barbra Jean's car wasn't in the driveway. Brock's truck stood there all alone. Smiling to herself, Reba walked up the front walk and knocked on the door. Seconds later, Brock answered. When he saw who it was, he couldn't help but smile.<p>

"Well, well, well," He said, looking her up and down. "I didn't know it was Christmas already. What a surprise."

"Stop being five years old." Reba pushed her way in. "Is your wife home?"

Brock closed the front door. "No."

Reba turned. "Good. I brought you cookies." She handed him the plate and he lifted the tin foil.

"Mmm. Chocolate chip. My favorite." He winked at her. "How did you know?"

"I could bake chocolate chip cookies with my eyes closed. A batch a week for twenty years, Brock."

"I remember. It was hard to make them last. I had to ration."

They sat down on the couch together and Reba chuckled. "I didn't want you getting fat. I had to make you wait."

Brock wrapped his arm around her. "So, did you just come here to give me cookies?"

"No."

"Then what are we waiting for?" He leaned in to kiss her, but Reba put a finger to his lips.

"Hang on."

"What?"

She stood and paced in front of him a bit. "I did come here to tell you something. Well, to vent is more like it."

"Well, what is it?"

"Rhett wants kids."

Brock's eyes went wide and there was a slight laugh in his voice as he said, "What?"

"Don't laugh. This is bad. I don't want to marry him, much less adopt a kid with the man."

"Oh, he wants to adopt. That's a bit more likely to happen."

Reba squared her jaw and slapped his shoulder. "Stop being a butt and listen to me."

He rubbed the spot she hit and winced. "Sorry. Jeez."

She put her hands over her eyes. "He's just going way too fast. Trying to speed out of the starting gate before they even get the dern things open."

"Tell him then."

"I keep trying to think of a way, but I don't know how." She finally sat back down on the couch next to him with a shake of her head. "It doesn't matter, though. I didn't come here to dwell on it. Just vent for a minute then let you let me forget." She turned her head to look at him.

"Well, I think I can do that."

He closed the space between their lips and gently put his hand on her hip, urging her to climb onto his lap. When she did, she broke the kiss.

"Where's your wife?"

"I'm not supposed to tell you." He kissed her again, letting his hands rest on her backside as she straddled him.

"What?" She pulled away and looked at him, puzzled.

"She didn't want me telling you if you asked or anything."

"Brock, if you don't tell me, I'm leaving."

"Reba..."

"No." She started to get up. "I'm not gonna risk having her come back and barge in here."

"She won't. She's at the mall, okay? Is that good enough or do you have to know what she's doing there?"

Reba eyed him. "Fine, but I'm going to find out why I wasn't supposed to know that."

"Fine. But later?" He kissed her once more, grabbing the hem of her t-shirt and pulling it over her head. He leaned in to kiss her neck as he reached around to undo her bra.

When he slung it across the room and gave what he uncovered his undivided attention, Reba smiled lightly.

"If I had known you were going to treat me this good when you didn't have to, I would have divorced you sooner than I did," She breathed as he started unzipping her pants.

Brock laughed against her skin and let her words float away without any response as he heard a gasp come from her lips.

* * *

><p>Some time later, they both lay on the floor with a throw draped over their bodies. Brock's arm was draped over his stomach, the other above his head as he listened to the woman beside him breathe in and out. He loved just knowing she was beside him.<p>

As she sat up, resting on her elbow, Brock opened his eyes and looked up into hers.

"When was the last time we did that on the floor?" She asked.

"Man, I can't even remember," He confessed. "Years. Although, it wasn't as hard on my back way back when."

Reba rolled her eyes. "All you did was lay there while I did all the work."

He touched the bottom of her chin with his finger. "And I didn't mind it at all."

She moved her head so he was no longer touching her and nudged him gently. "Pervert."

"You were the one who was doing it. Not me."

She laid back down and snuggled up next to him. Neither said anything for a moment until Brock broke the silence.

"Did you know I really wanted to have another baby with you?"

Reba tensed beside him before saying, "Come again?"

Brock looked at her. "Sure. You mean now or...?"

She sat up quickly, holding the blanket to her chest. "Did you really just say what I think you just said?"

"It was a joke."

"Not that. What you said before."

"About the baby?"

"Yes, about the baby! Why would you even bring that up? You know I was upset about that earlier!"

"But it's me. You have three kids with me already. I didn't think me saying I wanted another one would be a big deal."

She punched him in the shoulder and heard him yelp. "Stop saying that, you idiot!"

He sat up as well. "What? What's so wrong about that?"

"We're not together anymore! We don't get to go back and talk about what we wish we had done! Those times are over!"

"You're not making any sense. Everything was fine two seconds ago."

She reached for her bra a few feet away and slipped it on. "Yeah. That was before you stuck your foot in your mouth."

"I really don't get why you're so upset."

She put her shirt on next before grabbing her jeans. "Turn around."

"Reba. Don't leave here angry."

"Turn around!"

Reluctantly, he did and he felt the warmth of her body leave his side as she stood and slipped her jeans on.

"Can I turn around now?" He asked.

"I don't care what you do. I'm leaving. So, you can talk about the what ifs all alone."

She slipped her shoes on as he stood up, holding the throw around his waist.

"Reba, I'm sorry I said that. I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry."

"You never do stop to think, do you? You just run off at the mouth. Just like Rhett. You say whatever you want whenever you want and hope it goes over. And if it doesn't? Well, too bad for Reba."

She marched towards the door, but he grabbed her arm.

"I'm not like him," Brock said. "I only said that because I thought we were having a moment. Call me stupid or cheesy, but that's what it is. I truly didn't mean to upset you or make you think about what you came over here to forget."

"But you did."

Then she opened the door and left.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reviewing. (:<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning, Reba awoke just in time to see Jake rush out the door to catch the bus for school. She managed to get an 'I love you' from him before he slammed the door shut. Making her way to the kitchen for coffee, Reba faintly heard a car pull up in the driveway. Looking out the kitchen window, she saw Rhett's car come to a stop near the garage. He got out and she saw the tulips he held in his hand. She hadn't talked to him since their conversation on the phone. She wasn't sure she wanted to.

But he was opening the backdoor and walking in, so Reba had no time to think about it.

"Good morning," He said, hiding the tulips behind his back as he shut the door. "I was hoping you were awake."

"Seven forty-five every morning." She poured her coffee. "Want a cup?"

He shook his head. "No, but I do have something for you." He presented the pink tulips to her. "As an apology. I didn't mean to upset you yesterday."

Reba had to smile, even though she was still somewhat angry at him. He was still a sweet guy. However, it made her kind of sad that he didn't know she didn't look at a bouquet of flowers other women did. All they did was sit there and look pretty. There was really no other purpose for them. The just sat there until they died. She had always preferred chocolates or something of the sort. Something the could share together. But she shook her head and told herself it didn't matter. It was the thought that counted most.

"They're beautiful," She told him, bringing them to her nose to smell. Placing her coffee mug on the counter, she began rummaging through the cabinets for a vase.

"You like tulips, right?" He asked.

"My favorite." She did have to give him credit for remembering.

He nodded as he went to sit down at the counter. "I thought so. I remember you telling me on Valentine's Day." He smiled at the thought and watched as she filled up the vase she found with water, sticking the flowers' stems into it and arranging them just so before placing them beside the sink.

Reba tried not to blush. Valentine's Day was the first night they spent together. After just three months of dating, Reba decided it was finally time to give in, so she did. She didn't regret it, but perhaps she had given him the wrong idea. Now look at where she was.

"Do you remember Valentine's Day?" He asked.

She turned to get her cup of coffee, but not bothering to drink any of it just yet. "I do," She responded.

"I miss when we were so close and nothing but us really mattered. It seems like it wasn't that long ago." He looked up at her with his big green eyes that were so gentle and loving. "It kind of seems that that went away when I proposed to you."

Reba sighed. "It does kind of seem that way."

"I hope you're not planning on running away on me." He chuckled nervously and Reba joined him, trying to silently assure him she was not.

"I wouldn't do that to you," She told him. "You're too nice."

Rhett didn't know how to respond to that, so he just shrugged. "I hope not. I really love you. It would kill me if I lost you. And I know that sounds really stupid and fake and cheesy and a lot of other stuff, but that's how I feel in my heart. You know how it feels when you've found the one. You never want to disappoint that person, you never want to hurt them. You always want to please them. I always want to make you feel like a queen."

Reba couldn't keep her heart from melting at his words, but there was just something about him that wasn't right for her. It wasn't that he was mean because he most certainly was not. It wasn't that he wasn't kind because he truly was. And it wasn't because he wasn't honest because he had never told her a lie. The more she thought about it, she discovered that he was just too nice, too gentle. She couldn't live with that. She couldn't live with someone who walked around on eggshells when they were with her just because they thought she was going to blow up. She couldn't marry a person that wanted to please her and not give in to themselves. They hardly argued and that drove Reba crazy. She couldn't keep stuff bottled up just because her significant other wasn't a fighter.

She supposed that's why her and Brock fit so well together. There were times he would do things for himself and not for her. And she didn't mind. There was a time when she loved him with all her heart and wanted him to be happy. There were times where he would put her in her place and she was grateful for that. He used to have her best interest at heart and Rhett didn't seem to fully understand the responsibility of that. Brock would yell and scream at her when he was angry and let her turn around and do the same. Neither had to worry about hurting the other's feelings because they knew when to stop and not push the other's buttons.

"What are you thinking about?" Rhett asked.

Reba blinked and came out of her daydream. "Oh, nothing," She told him, sipping her coffee. "Just the wedding."

Rhett smiled. "I'm really looking forward to it. I can't get it off my mind."

"Me either. Me either..."

* * *

><p>Later on that day, Reba sat at her desk, typing away at her computer when her office door opened. She looked up, wondering who was about to come in. Clients usually knocked before entering.<p>

"Oh," She stated. "It's you."

"Well, hello to you, too, Sunshine," Brock said sarcastically.

Reba rolled her eyes as he shut the door. "What are you doing here?"

He sat down in the chair that was in front of her desk. "I didn't want things to end on a bad note," He explained and reached into his pocket. "I bring this as a peace offering." He placed a tiny box of chocolates on her desk and moved it towards her slowly.

She gave a small smile as she lifted the lid. Two chocolates occupied the small, heart-shaped box. Looking up, Reba shook her head. "If you think this will make me forgive you, then you're wrong."

Brock grinned. "No, I'm not. You can't resist chocolate. You never could."

"Doesn't mean I forgive you."

"Then maybe this will make you change your mind." He stood and leaned over her, capturing her lips in a kiss and before she could say no and pull away, his mouth opened and she followed on instinct. He cupped her face in his hands as he nipped at her lower lip causing her to sigh. When he pulled away, he looked deeply into her eyes.

"Did it work?"

Her heart was beating fast and she was sure her blood pressure was going through the roof. Breathlessly, she said, "Yeah, I think so."

He pecked her lips one last time before saying, "Good." He sat back down and crossed his ankles in front of him, folding his arms with a smirk on his face. "So, how is your day going?"

Reba blinked a few times before saying, "It's going good. Now." She smiled at him before looking at the small box of chocolates he brought with him. "What do you say we save these for another time?"

He nodded. "Whatever you say."

She put the box in her purse and glanced at her watch. "I better get back to work. I have a meeting in a little while."

Brock groaned. "But I don't want to leave yet."

Reba moved her computer mouse around, waking her computer from hibernation and said, "Stop being five years old. We have tonight to be together. And the whole weekend."

Brock's eyes lit up as he leaned forward in his chair. "We do?"

"Rhett has to go out of town for some competition he's hosting. He won't be back until Sunday."

"This is interesting information. When were you planning on telling me about this?"

"Whenever the opportunity presented itself." She leaned over her desk, chin resting in her hands. Brock couldn't help but notice that her blouse was not buttoned all the way. The two top buttons were undone, leaving very little to the imagination.

"You might want to button those," Brock told her, pointing at her shirt.

Reba looked down before saying, "Oh, these two buttons here?"

"Yeah. Those. Have you been walking around all day like that?"

"I've been mindful of it." She unbuttoned a third button. "I don't like this shirt. It always feels like I'm being choked when it's buttoned all the way."

Brock knew what she was doing and he wasn't amused at the fact she was teasing him. He'd much rather her do this when they could actually go all the way. Not in her office.

"Come on, now," He said. "Don't get me all worked up then deny me"

Reba shrugged and began to button her blouse. "Whatever you say. Isn't that what you told me earlier?" She winked. "I really do have to get back to work, though."

Brock stood and walked around her desk, leaning down.

"What are you doing?" She asked as he rested his hands on the arms of her office chair.

"Trying to make you rethink your idea to button up." He ran his thumb along the soft skin under her eye.

"You're not going to." She pushed on his chest and stood, making him back up a bit.

"Come on, Reba. You know you want to."

"It's unprofessional."

"Then we can go to my office."

Reba rolled her eyes and steered him towards the door. "You're being ridiculous. Now go so I can get my work done."

She thought he was going to go along with it and leave her to do her work, but before she knew it, she was backed up against the wall, hands above her head. He bumped her hips to the wall with his own and grinded his pelvis against her own. He placed his lips next to her ear and whispered, "Am I turning you on?"

She swallowed. "No," She lied.

He let go of her hands and backed away from her. "Okay. See you later." He winked as he opened her door and walked out, shutting it behind him.

Reba was dumbfounded, standing there against the wall. Her thoughts went to karma being a female dog. She had teased him without mercy then he had turned around and done the same to her before leaving her all alone.

Before he got too far, she went to her office door and opened it, saying, "Brock, wait!"

She nearly bumped into him, as he was standing in the doorway, leaning up against it. "Yes?"

She grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him in, closing the door with a slam before kissing him full on the mouth. She led him to the chair in front of her desk, making him sit before she straddled him, running her fingers through his hair. His hands went straight for those buttons on her shirt. One by one, he undid them and when he finished, his reward was great. He ran his hands over her skin and watched her head fall backwards. That was when her office door opened.

"Reba, I need you to make some copies for- Oh."

Reba jerked her head up to see her boss standing in her doorway holding a folder. Brock looked behind him and saw who it was before reaching forward to bring the pieces of Reba's blouse together.

"Excuse me," Mr. McKenzie said before stepping out of the office and closing the door.

Reba jumped off Brock with her hands covering her mouth, trying to say something, anything, but no words came.

Brock just sat in the chair, wondering how long it was going to take before he would be able to walk out of the building.

"Well," He finally said. "Isn't that a kick in the teeth. Or in this case, the nuts."

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading. (:<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

Reba figured her boss would want to talk to her after what had happened, so after she made Brock leave, it was no surprise that Mr. McKenzie called her into his office.

"Please sit down," He told her as she entered his office.

Reba closed the door and sat down, feeling her cheeks going red. "Sir," She began. "Before you jump to any conclusions-"

"I don't care who you have associations with," He interrupted her. "But it will not go on in my office. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Mr. McKenzie. I do apologize as does Brock. He-"

He held up a hand. "I don't want to hear it. Just promise me it won't happen again."

"It won't. I can assure you."

"Because as you know, a client could have walked in instead of me. And that would mean me possibly losing that client. So let's keep this a family oriented facility, shall we?"

Reba nodded. "Absolutely. It was unprofessional. I apologize again."

"Good. You can go now." He put his glasses on and shooed her out of the room.

Reba felt like a child as she exited the office. She felt like he might as well have put her in time out. Rolling her eyes, Reba closed his office door and made her way to the ladies' restroom. Once in there, she locked herself in a stall. She was embarrassed. Not only for being caught, but because her boss now knew she was cheating on her fiance. It just made her look bad.

A moment later, the restroom door opened and in walked what Reba assumed to be two of the secretaries that took care of the desk out in the lobby.

"I heard Mr. McKenzie telling his assistant that Reba Hart was fixing to go at it with her ex-husband in her office."

Reba's ears perked up at the woman's voice talking to her coworker. Surely these grown women couldn't be gossiping about her.

"Isn't she engaged?" The other woman asked.

Well, she supposed they could be... She continued to listen to them banter back and forth.

"What does that matter? Affairs happen everyday. I go to church with his grandma and I've seen him there with her before."

"So?"

"He's a little too friendly with the piano player, if you know what I mean."

The two exited the restroom just as quickly as they came in. It was almost as if they knew she was in there and just wanted to let her in on what they knew. It made her sick. Why adults couldn't act like adults was beyond her. Oftentimes, they were just as bad as children.

_You can't be pointing fingers when you're doing something just as bad, _She thought to herself as she unlocked the stall and walked out, not even looking in the women who were talking about her's direction. _You're being a hypocrite and you know it._

But she didn't really care enough to do anything about it.

* * *

><p>The weekend rolled around and Rhett headed off to Dallas for his hosting duties. Reba awoke that Saturday morning with Brock on her mind.<p>

"You busy?" She asked when she called him up.

"Nope. Not really. What are you up to?"

"I've got the house to myself."

"Be there in five minutes."

Moments later, he was at her door and in her arms.

"What did you do, run over here?" She teased.

He nodded and grabbed her hand, trying to lead her up the stairs. But she stopped him.

"Hold on," She said with a laugh. "Where's Barbra Jean?"

"At the grocery store with Henry. She won't be home for a while."

"Right." She leaned in and kissed Brock full on the mouth, taking his hand and placing it up her shirt. "Now we can go."

Brock broke the kiss and began to head upstairs when a knock at the door interrupted them. Reba sighed and let go of Brock's hand.

"No," He groaned. "If it's important they'll call."

Reba looked back at him. "Just go wait for me. I'll only be a minute."

He reluctantly went up the stairs as Reba opened the door. No one was there, but she saw a FedEx truck driving away. Looking down, she saw a package leaning on the door-frame. She picked it up, wondering what it could be. As she closed the door and ascended the stairs, reaching her room, she realized.

"What is that?" Brock asked. He was already on her bed, under the covers.

"My dress," She responded, laying it on the bed. "They had to have it sent to a seamstress in Tomball to repair some of the stitching. I forgot they told me they would just forward it here from there." She ripped the brown papering and opened the box, pulling the dress out.

"It's nice," Brock said as she held it up against herself.

"I guess so." She looked down at it. It was really simple. Nothing like her wedding dress she wore at her first wedding. "I liked my first dress better."

Brock crawled over to where she sat, wrapping his arm around her. "No. Stop it. We're not going to talk about that, remember? It upsets you."

She leaned her head on his shoulder. "It upsets me whether I talk about it or not."

"Well, then why don't you put that dress away and let me see if I can make you forget about it for a while." He slowly kissed her neck, breathing in her scent. "I think it would make you feel better."

She looked at him as he lifted his head. "Thank you."

He smiled, a bit sadly if Reba had to think about it and said, "You don't have to thank me."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned back with him. "Yes, I do. I never did when we were married. Better late than never."

* * *

><p>For the rest of that Saturday, Reba and Brock spent as much time together as they could. They even arranged a family outing with Van and Cheyenne, Jake, Barbra Jean, and Henry so they could at least be in each other's presence. It was just like old times. Old times without Rhett in the picture. He never crossed her mind unless she happened to look down at her left hand. But when she did, she would just glance at Brock and all her bad thoughts and feelings would disappear. He was her safe place, although he didn't know the extent of it. She doubted she'd ever let him know.<p>

"You're really in a good mood tonight," Cheyenne told her mom when they arrived at Reba's house. Brock and Barbra Jean had taken Henry home, but Cheyenne and Van stayed with Reba to visit a bit longer.

Reba shrugged as she cleaned up the kitchen a bit. Van was in the living room with the kids, playing some sort of video game with them.

"Just nice to be around my family." She smiled and looked at her daughter. "I haven't seen much of you all lately."

"Busy with wedding preparations?" Cheyenne placed her chin in her hands and leaned forward over the counter with a girlish smile.

Reba tilted her head to the side as she loaded the dishwasher, thinking. "Something like that."

"Are you excited?"

"Oh, I wouldn't call it excited."

Cheyenne sat back. "Have you guys thought about where you want to have the wedding at? I think an outdoor wedding would be so beautiful. You could have in in June and we could get daisies and tie them on the backs of the chairs and we could have lights strung throughout the trees." She clasped her hands together. "It would be so romantic."

"That's not really our style. I think we're just going to do something simple. I'd rather elope, to be honest with you."

"Where's the fun in that? You just say 'I do' then go home. What about all the fun? The reception, the friends? You don't want to miss out on that, do you?"

"I don't really care." She sighed. "Let's talk about something else."

Cheyenne, not really catching onto her mother's lack of enthusiasm, began chatting away about Elizabeth and Kasey. Reba listened as best as she could. Cheyenne had brought up everything she had tried to forget about that evening. And she wasn't pleased.

That evening, when Reba was getting ready to climb into bed, already dreading Rhett arriving the next day, her cellphone rang. It was the ringtone she had set for Rhett and she seriously thought about ignoring it. But he would just keep calling if she did that.

"Hello?"

"Hey, baby! What are you up to?"

"Fixing to get in bed. I'm pretty exhausted."

"I'm all wired up, as you can probably tell."

"Mm-hmm..." She closed her eyes and laid back on her pillow.

"I had an interesting conversation with Dan today."

Dan was Rhett's good chef friend. She had met him a few times and Rhett even discussed the fact of him wanting Dan to be his best man to her before.

"Oh, yeah? What about?"

"We really want to open a restaurant together."

"That's nice." At this point, Reba was only half listening.

"We think it'd be a great opportunity to provide some jobs and plus, it'd just be a lot of fun. I mean, I've been in the catering business for a while, but I've never owned my own restaurant. You know what they say. You do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life."

"I've heard that throughout my years."

"I want to give it a shot."

Reba put a pillow over her head, hoping he'd say goodbye soon. She had had a long day and did everything but sit down.

"I'm sure it'd work out for you."

"There's a catch, though."

As tired as she was, nothing really came to Reba's mind as far as those pesky catches that every bright idea had goes.

"And what's that?"

"We'd have to move to Dallas."

* * *

><p><strong>I had a bit of writer's block with this chapter, as you can probably tell. It involved a lot of staring at my computer screen before actually writing something. But I hope it was somewhat entertaining.<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

"I am not moving to Dallas."

Rhett sighed for the hundredth time that evening. Reba was appalled at the fact that her fiance thought he could just uproot her and move her to another town after being in Houston for so long. Houston was all she knew. It was where all her memories were. There was no way she was going to leave them, make Jake switch schools right in the middle of high school, move away from Elizabeth and Kasey. She just simply wouldn't do it.

"Reba, think about this opportunity."

"No. You can own a restaurant out of Houston just as easily as you could own one out of Dallas. I'm not going to leave the city I love, Rhett. You should have known I wouldn't go along with this."

"I thought you'd be excited about it. It's a chance to try new things."

"Rhett, I'm done with that stage in my life. I'm not twenty years old, thirty years old anymore. I'm nearly fifty, and you are, too. Now, are we going to settle down and get married or are we going to go gallivanting off in search of adventure? Because if it's the latter, I'm not going to go for it."

Rhett stared at her. "Reba..."

"Don't 'Reba' me. I'm serious."

"So you don't like the restaurant idea at all?"

"You owning a restaurant with your friend is not the problem. Moving to Dallas is the problem. Why can't you open up a restaurant here?"

"Dan loves Dallas. He thinks it'd be a great place to start this business."

"Rhett, Dan doesn't have a family. You're about to. Are you just going to stop all preparations with the wedding?"

"I just figured we could put it on hold for a bit while I go get things set up there."

Reba almost responded but thought a moment. If Rhett did that, it would give her some more time without him around. Maybe she could grow to miss him. Maybe she could learn to love him that way. Maybe she could make it work that way. She could talk him into letting Dan handle the heavy lifting so he didn't have to move to Dallas, he could just go there when he absolutely had to. She could talk him into whatever she wanted. She could make this whole crazy situation work.

"Well..." She said, pretending to give in.

"It wouldn't be forever." He grabbed her hands. "And I'm not picking you over Dallas. I just want to give you everything you deserve and I'll be able to with this restaurant. You know that, right? You're the most important thing in my life."

She gave him a kiss, nodding as she pulled away. "I know. And maybe some time apart will do us some good. We've both been on edge lately, what with all the wedding stress."

He pulled her into a hug with a sigh of relief. "I thought I was the only one who thought that. I'm so glad you feel the same way. Time apart would be good. It'll remind us how much we care about each other." He pulled away. "Are you absolutely sure about this?"

She looked into his bright eyes, so full of ambition and character. She smiled and nodded. "I am."

She desperately wanted to love him. He was what every girl dreamed of in a man. He truly cared about pleasing her and her alone and it aggravated her that she couldn't appreciate him like she should. She just hoped this arrangement would make it to where she could.

* * *

><p>She tried to get out of it, but the next evening, Barbra Jean convinced Reba to come to her house and do a little bit of candle-making with her. Reba was not in the mood for arts and crafts, but since Rhett was passed out on Reba's couch and snoring like a freight train, Reba agreed and proceeded to sneak out the backdoor to Brock and Barbra Jean's house.<p>

"So," Barbra Jean said as the two sat down at the kitchen table with their supplies. "You and Rhett are moving to Dallas?"

Reba looked up at her friend. "What? No. Who told you that?"

"Brock did."

Reba vaguely remembered mentioning Rhett's plans to Brock earlier that day as she was leaving his office after their mid-morning rendezvous.

"I did mention it to him in passing," Reba admitted. "But Rhett's going. Not me."

"Are you two breaking up? Did he cheat on you?" Barbra Jean stood. "If he did, I'm gonna kick him where the sun don't shine, so help me." She reached for the home telephone, presumably to dial Rhett's number, but Reba snatched the phone from her.

"Would you calm down? We're not breaking up."

Barbra Jean's expression softened as she said, "Oh." Sitting down, she smiled shyly. "I knew he wouldn't do something like that."

"Obviously."

"He's just so sweet and you two are perfect together. It'd break my heart if you two ended up calling the whole thing off."

"Nobody has any plans to do that, Barbra Jean, and if you don't mind, I'd rather not discuss it."

"Why? You're gonna miss him, aren't you?" She leaned forward with her chin in her hands. "You two are so cute. What's he going to Dallas for, anyway?"

"Him and his buddy want to open a restaurant."

"That sounds fun. Why aren't you going with him?"

"I just told you why. We need some time apart."

"But wouldn't you want to be together constantly? You're so in love." She drug out the last word as she batted her eyelashes playfully. "He treats you so well." She went back to her candle-making for a moment before saying, "I wish Brock was still that sweet."

"He is."

She let the words slip before she could stop them, but thankfully, Barbra Jean didn't seem to notice. She just shrugged.

"He doesn't buy me flowers anymore, never cooks dinner for me. It's like he's so comfortable in our life that he doesn't want to make it special anymore."

"Have you ever thought about the other ways he shows you that he loves you?"

"Like what?"

"Like waking up at six in the morning every single day to go to work to make a living so you and Henry can live a comfortable life. He takes care of all the bills so you don't have to, he mows the lawn, makes sure your car runs properly, opens the pickle jar you never can seem to pry open. It's the little things that mean the most, not the big things everybody notices."

Barbra Jean didn't look up, but Reba could tell she was thinking about the words she said. That's when Reba realized that her in Barbra Jean were in each other's dream relationships. Barbra Jean was more of a little girl. She felt comfortable when someone was doing everything for her. Not that that was a bad thing. She was very tenderhearted and wanted a man who was the same way. Reba, on the other hand, didn't need someone to do everything for her. She could cook and clean and make sure things were in order and didn't necessarily need a man who would cuddle with her at night like Barbra Jean did. Although, every woman liked that from time to time, she didn't desire it twenty-four seven like Barbra Jean did. Brock suited her best. He always had. And it was too bad, so sad for both women involved. Neither would make the move to change things.

"Did Brock do all those things for you?" Barbra Jean asked.

"He did. And it took losing him to appreciate it."

Reba wondered if Barbra Jean noticed that she didn't urge her to never let it happen to her. Reba wasn't sure where she stood when it came to Brock and Barbra Jean's relationship. They were good when they were good, but bad when they were bad.

_You'd probably be able to tell where you stood if you stopped sleeping with him, _Reba thought to herself.

"Brock and I were thinking of moving to Dallas," Barbra Jean suddenly said.

Reba looked up. "What?"

Nodding, Barbra Jean said, "Yeah. Been thinking about it for awhile."

"Why would you move to Dallas?"

Reba tried to play it cool, but she wondered if she was doing a good enough job. Brock was her rock at the moment. If he went away, Reba wasn't sure what she'd do. She'd become dependent on him for her happiness, a lethal mistake for any woman who thought that of the tanned dentist.

Barbra Jean shrugged. "Just something different. We haven't made a decision yet, though."

Reba nodded, but didn't say anything more. She felt she had spoken too much that night, anyway.

* * *

><p>"Would you tell me if I was making the wrong decision, even if I told you it would make me happy?"<p>

Reba turned her head to look at Brock. They lay side by side in her bed after Brock had come over after Barbra Jean had fallen asleep. Rhett had left hours before, so he wasn't a worry at that moment.

"What do you mean?" Reba asked him.

"Remember when I wanted to move to Vegas but you told me I shouldn't because it would ruin everything I had worked so hard to build back up after our divorce?" When Reba nodded, he said, "Would you warn me if I was about to do the same thing again?"

"I know about Dallas, Brock, if that's what you're talking about."

"It is."

"I figured."

"So, would you tell me?"

"I don't know what's best for you and your family anymore, Brock."

He nodded, kissing her forehead gently. "Do you know what this means?"

"What does what mean?"

"When you get married, we're not going to be a family anymore."

"I've thought about that. Rhett and I are going to be doing our own thing, Jake'll be off at college, you and Barbra Jean might be in Dallas. Everybody's breaking up and going their separate ways."

"If you think about it, though, we haven't been a family for years. I think it's just time to realize that."

"I miss it, though." Reba scooted closer to him without even realizing it. "Do you?"

"I do. No matter how I act, I do miss our family. I miss the times we had."

"You know there'll never be another like it."

"We sound like a sappy Lifetime movie."

Reba playfully slapped Brock's arm and sat up, holding the blankets to her chest as she leaned against the headboard. Brock sat up as well and took her left hand in his right. He ran his fingers over her knuckles and vaguely remembered how her wedding band used to look resting on her finger whenever he'd hold her hand.

"Even though you think you don't know what's best for me," He said. "I still like to think I know what's best for you. You know I'm not gonna stop trying to get you to break if off with Rhett, right?"

"I wish you would."

"But I won't."

Reba looked at him. "I have to find a way to be happy, Brock. He's my last chance. I refuse to be alone in this life anymore."

"I could make you happy."

"Not like that. Not anymore."

* * *

><p><strong>So sorry for the wait. Every time I would go to write, my computer would decide to act up and delete everything I had written. But I managed to get some done without it messing up, so here it is. (:<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

It had been a week since Rhett left for Dallas. He got himself a nice new apartment, he said over the phone. It was small, but cozy. He kept telling her he couldn't wait for her to see it. As if she ever would.

Barbra Jean spoke of her own desires to go to Dallas as well. She began to look at houses online and print out the ones she liked best. There were always a few print-outs lying around their house when Reba would visit. She'd disguise her visits and speak to Barbra Jean about whatever; Jake, work and such, but she wouldn't smile until five o'clock came around and Brock came in the door. She always timed it just right. They would smile carefully at each other. Occasionally, Brock would wink and she'd blush. It was the best part of her day.

Her and Barbra Jean would go out for a girl's night and Brock would watch Henry, pretending not to care that he had to stay behind. He'd whine and Barbra Jean would roll her eyes at him, but Reba would laugh. She knew he'd rather go along and stay with her.

But when Reba would go home for the night, he would sneak over to her house after his wife had fallen asleep and he'd stay in her arms for a while before slipping out and back to his own house, ready to repeat it all over again the next day or whenever they'd meet again. The only thing Reba wished was different was that they didn't have to sneak around. Part of her wished they were still a happily married couple and could show their affection outwardly. But that would never happen again and Reba was starting to accept that.

"I think Barbra Jean's getting really serious about moving to Dallas," Brock told her one evening after the deed was done.

"I know," Reba said, snuggling under the covers. "It's all she ever talks to me about."

"I'm not sure what she finds so interesting about it." He crossed his hands over his stomach, glancing at her in the dark. Some light filtered in through her window and the moonlight illuminated her face. She was smiling.

"Are you going to consider it?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. If you decided to move there with Rhett, it might make it a little easier."

She didn't open her eyes, but scoffed. "Oh, so now you're all for me and Rhett being together?"

"No. I'm a hundred and ten percent against that. I'm just saying that I might be more inclined to move there if you did, too. You don't have to move there with him necessarily."

"He's there, Brock. He owns his own business now."

"How's that gonna work, anyway?"

"How's what going to work?"

"Him being there and you being here? You can't have a marriage that way."

Reba sighed. "I'm working on missing him."

Brock chuckled. "You're what?"

"You heard me. I'm trying to make myself want him to be around."

"How's that working out for you?"

Reba rolled on top of him, straddling his waist. "How do you think?"

* * *

><p>"I think she should carry a bouquet of daisies."<p>

"No. Roses are more traditional."

"But daisies are so bright, and since it's an outside wedding, it would suit everything."

"We could do a combination of red roses and baby's breath. It would go well with the dress."

Reba sat at her kitchen table, listening to Cheyenne carry on about daisies and Barbra Jean babble about roses. She couldn't care less about the flowers she would carry at her wedding, but it kept the questions to a minimum.

"What do you think, Mom?" Cheyenne finally asked, turning to her mother who was staring at the wall.

"Huh?" Reba broke her blank gaze. "Oh. I don't really care. Whatever's cheapest."

Barbra Jean glanced at a few of the brochures that were strewn out over the table. "They're all expensive. Cheapest thing would be the dandelions out in the front yard."

"Works for me."

Barbra Jean shook her head and opened a catalog. "Too Tennessee mountain hillbilly-ish. We have to go with something more traditional. Like _roses_." She looked at Cheyenne as she punched out the last word. But Cheyenne just rolled her eyes.

"It's an outside wedding in the spring with butterflies and bumblebees. Daisies would look so cute. Don't you think, Mom?"

Reba sighed. "Is this my wedding or y'all's?" She stood from the table, pushing her chair back. "I'm tired of wedding planning, anyway. You two have done nothing but argue about things you don't even really get to choose. When you settle it, I'll come back."

She left the room in a huff, exiting the house via the backdoor. As she left, she heard Barbra Jean say, "Who peed in her Cheerios?" She rolled her eyes as the door slammed shut. Gazing up at the clouds, she decided a walk might be nice. Some fresh air might clear her head. As she began her walk around the block, she noticed Brock and Barbra Jean's front door opening just as she walked by. Brock walked out and saw her, waving.

She waved back and smiled as he jogged towards her.

"Whatcha doin'?" He asked, settling into a comfortable stroll beside her.

"Getting out of my kitchen turned wedding planning booth."

"Ah. Getting anything figured out?"

"With Cheyenne and Barbra Jean, are you kiddin'? They're arguing about the flowers."

"Shouldn't that be your decision?"

"That's exactly what I said before I walked out."

As soon as they rounded the corner and Reba's house was no longer in sight, he grabbed her hand and laced his fingers with hers.

"They'll get over it," He told her.

"Let's change the topic. I'm tired of all this wedding talk."

"Okay. What do you want to talk about?"

"How about we just walk? We can talk anytime. When's the last time we were just with one another?"

* * *

><p><strong>I know this was short, but it'll get better. Promise. (:<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

The weeks went by and Reba didn't learn to miss Rhett. The one she did miss, however, was never far from her reach. She just knew he would never be truly hers again. She spent as much time with Brock as she could, although she knew that wouldn't help her fall for Rhett. If anything, it was just making things worse. She knew good and well that Brock's marriage with Barbra Jean was on the rocks. Having an affair with him certainly wasn't helping that matter.

Two weeks before the wedding, Rhett came back to Houston.

"It's so great to finally be able to see you again," Rhett told when they saw each other. He had been gone for one month and the only contact they had had were phone-calls and emails.

Reba hugged her fiance back as they stood on the front porch, his bags around them. "Missed you," She lied.

"I missed you more."

Reba pulled away, thinking about how that was entirely possible. "Let's get inside. The kids are here for dinner."

A family dinner was held and everybody celebrated the upcoming wedding with a cake that Cheyenne and Van had secretly ordered to surprise Reba and Rhett.

"I know it isn't as fancy as the wedding cake," Cheyenne said as she cut slices for everyone. "But it'll do. I hope you all like Devil's food cake."

"What kind did we order for the wedding?" Rhett asked Reba, passing her cake to her.

"Vanilla, I believe," She responded. "Cheyenne said she'd order it. It was vanilla, right, Cheyenne?"

"Wait. What?" Cheyenne asked, looking over at Reba. "You wanted vanilla?"

"Yes. What kind did you order?"

"Chocolate."

Reba threw her hands in the air. "Chocolate? How do you mix up chocolate and vanilla?"

"I'm sorry. I guess I just wasn't thinking."

"Rhett doesn't like chocolate. And the cake has already been paid for. What now?"

Cheyenne shrugged slightly, her face told the story of apology. "I'm sorry, Mom..."

"Reba, it's fine," Rhett said. "I'll deal with it."

Reba turned to face him. "You're not going to deal with it. It's your wedding."

"It's _our_ wedding," He corrected her. "Don't get so upset. It'll be fine." He wrapped an arm around her. "Why are you getting all worked up, anyway? Hormones raging?" He winked.

"No," She said. "My hormones are not raging, thank you very much." She sat back and squared her jaw.

"Jeez. You'd think you're pregnant or something with the way you're carrying on," Rhett told her.

The table went quiet before Cheyenne said, "Mom, are you?"

Reba's eyes went wide. "What? No!" She elbowed Rhett. "Don't say things like that."

"I was just kidding. She's not pregnant, you guys," He told the kids.

Everybody went back to eating their cake, but Reba didn't touch hers. She had been a little moody lately, but that was because she was expecting to see Rhett. Now that he was here, she was even more on edge than usual. And she certainly didn't appreciate him making jokes like that.

* * *

><p>"And then he told everybody that the reason I was so worked up was because I might be pregnant," Reba told Brock the next evening. She had gone over to his place after Barbra Jean and Cheyenne had gone wedding shopping and Rhett and Jake were playing some video game at her house.<p>

"Are you?" Brock asked, placing his nose in the crook of her neck.

She smacked his chest. "I haven't slept with anybody but you in two months. I hope to God I'm not. But I'm not."

"Good. That would really screw things up."

"You think we're not doing a good enough job with that?"

"I was just saying."

"Well, I'm just saying. You realize we'll have to stop soon."

"I don't want to."

"Well, me either, but this was only supposed to bring temporary relief. We have to go out into the real world, if you will, now. We have to be done playing this game, or whatever it is."

"It isn't a game. It's wonderful."

"You sound like a Hallmark card."

"I'm just stating the facts. It's wonderful being around you."

She moved her head back to look at him in the dim light. "Is it really wonderful? 'Cause it sure feels wrong."

"It's some kind of wonderful. Other people may not see it that way, but it's wonderful to us. And that's all that really matters."

* * *

><p>Barbra Jean dropped by the next day with an odd bounce in her step. She had just dropped Henry off at school and was prepared to take advantage of Reba's day off work.<p>

"Hey, buddy!" She called, entering the living room where Reba was dusting the furniture.

"Barbra Jean, what are you doing here?"

"I have something I want to show you."

Reba stopped her cleaning momentarily and turned to her friend. "Okay. What is it?"

"Oh, it's not here. It's downtown."

"Downtown? What do you want to show me that's downtown?"

"It's a surprise."

Reba sighed and placed a hand on her hip. "I have a lot of cleaning I have to catch up on. Either tell me or I ain't goin'."

"It's a fortune teller's shop."

Reba blinked a few times in astonishment before shaking her head. "Nope. I am not going to a fortune teller."

"Reba, why? I know there are some things you're on the fence about. Madame Ilvinsky can help you with that."

"I don't need a fortune teller to solve my problems. And what do you mean you know there are some things I'm on the fence about?"

"Brock told me you had cold feet about the wedding."

"He told you what?"

Barbra Jean took a few steps back as Reba took several forward. "I was just saying how you don't really seem yourself lately. He didn't have much to say so I knew he knew something. I forced it out of him and he told me you were having second thoughts."

Reba was raging mad. She had told that to him in confidence. If it somehow got back to Rhett, her and Brock's affair could get out and that certainly wouldn't help with her being alone issue.

"Don't be mad at him," Barbra Jean said. "I knew I could help you if I only knew what the problem was. Now that I do, I'm taking the proper steps to fixing it. You and Rhett are the cutest couple ever. There's no need to be on the fence about it. Now go get ready so we can go."

"Barbra Jean, I am really not in the mood to go to a fortune teller. I'm going to stay here, finish cleaning, then I'm going to drink a bottle of wine."

"It's not even nine o'clock in the morning."

"Not a problem. I plan to be drunk before then, anyway."

* * *

><p>Somehow, she wasn't sure exactly how, Barbra Jean convinced Reba to go downtown with her to see Madame Ilvinsky. Barbra Jean swore by her, having apparently gone to her a more than a few times for guidance. Reba wasn't one to believe in that sort of stuff, but figured if she could just hurry and get it over with, Barbra Jean would leave her alone.<p>

The two walked inside the dimly lit shop, a bell jingling on the door, signalling their arrival. A older woman in a long dress appeared from a door in the back, arms held out.

"You must be my nine o'clock appointment. Barbra Jean?"

"Yes, that's me." Barbra Jean stepped forward. "And this is Reba. She's the one whose palms you'll be reading."

Madame Ilvinsky put her glasses on and walked towards Reba, taking her hands. "I knew you'd be a redhead." She winked before motioning them back. "Come. Sit, sit." She opened the door she had just walked out of and Reba and Barbra Jean followed her in, Reba a little more uncertainly than Barbra Jean.

There was a round table with four chairs around it, a dark tablecloth draped over it. A few candles flickered in the room, giving the place an eerie feeling. Reba was beginning to feel more and more uneasy as she sat down with the two.

"So," Madame Ilvinsky said. "I understand you're here concerning last minute wedding jitters?" She looked at Reba with her grandmotherly face.

"I guess so..." Reba told her. "She drug me here." She pointed at Barbra Jean. "I wasn't very excited to come. No offense. I just don't believe in this sort of thing."

"Reba!" Barbra Jean said in surprise. "Don't be rude."

"She's okay," Madame Ilvinsky said. "Not everyone believes. And not everyone should. It's more fun that way." She winked and grabbed Reba's hands, turning them palm-side up. "You're looking to be reassured that your fiance is the one for you, am I right?"

"I guess so," Reba told her. "But how would you know what's right?"

"I don't know. The lines do." She looked down, tracing the lines in Reba's hands with her own soft, wrinkled ones. After a moment, she said, "Your fiance, he's very kind, isn't he?"

Reba nodded. "Yes, he is."

Madame Ilvinsky clicked her tongue. "A little too kind?"

"Maybe."

She was silent for a moment before saying, "You mean everything to him. He's told you that time and time again. But you just don't feel the same, do you?" She looked up at Reba who's mouth was open slightly. The old woman chuckled. "The truth gets the nonbelievers every time."

Reba closed her mouth, narrowing her eyes. "Anyone could guess that."

"Is there someone else?" She asked. "Someone you love other than your fiance?"

Barbra Jean looked at Reba then to Madame Ilvinsky. "You mean you don't think her heart is with Rhett?" She looked at Reba. "Reba, is that true?"

"The lines don't lie," Madame Ilvinsky said, closing Reba's hands and pushing them towards her. "Do they?"


	11. Chapter 11

Reba and Barbra Jean walked out to Reba's car after their meeting with Madame Ilvinsky. Reba was still a little freaked out over the fact that the woman knew her love life so well. It was truly odd and now that Barbra Jean suspected she had another man, she wasn't sure what to do or how to explain herself.

"So," Barbra Jean asked when they got in the car. "Care to explain?"

Reba started the engine and pulled out onto the street. "Care to explain what?"

"Don't play dumb. There's someone else? Other than Rhett?"

"No, there isn't. I told you that I don't believe in that fortune telling business. None of what she said is true."

"Reba, you're not a very good liar. Now just tell me who it is."

"There is no one else, Barbra Jean. Can we please drop it?"

"Reba, I am your best friend. I'm not going to judge you. Even Brock thinks something is up. We all love you and want to help you."

"I don't need help. I'm getting along just fine, thank you very much."

Barbra Jean was silent for a moment. Nothing could be heard but the sound of the air blasting through the vents. After a moment, Barbra Jean asked, "Would you tell me if I was making the wrong decision, even if I told you it would make me happy?"

Reba glanced at her. "What?"

"Would you?"

Reba recalled Brock asking her that same thing a few days before.

"I don't know what's best for you, Barbra Jean," She finally said. "If it makes you happy, it's obviously the right thing to do. What do you mean by that, anyway?"

"I just really want to be in Dallas. It's all I think about. It's all I talk about."

"Yeah, I know."

"It just seems so exciting. Houston has become boring. I've been here for so long. I just need a change of pace and Brock is not behind me on this. I thought he might warm up to the idea, but he hasn't. And it's got me thinking: Do I even want to be with him anymore?"

"Are you talking about divorce?"

Barbra Jean nodded. "I just can't help but feel like he's become bored with me. Half the time, it's like he's not even here. He's somewhere else mentally and it's not fair to me or Henry."

Reba nodded, knowing that it was partly her fault that he couldn't be completely there for his family.

"You just do what you think is best, Barbra Jean. Nobody knows better than you."

* * *

><p>The wedding was a week away. Rhett and Reba still hadn't decided who would live where. Would he come back to Houston and live in her house on the weekends or would she just move to Dallas like he wanted in the first place?<p>

"We probably should have thought about this sooner," Rhett said while the two were curled up on Reba's couch, watching a movie.

"We'll figure it out," Reba told him, sighing as he put his arm around her. She could tell that he wasn't really watching the movie. He had other things on his mind.

He kissed the side of her head before pulling back a bit and kissing her neck. She turned to him questioningly. "What are you doing?"

He chuckled. "What do you think?" He leaned in and touched his lips to hers, holding onto her side. But she wasn't having any of it. Lately, his kisses felt so wrong. She hadn't been with him since before her and Brock's thing started. She just didn't know if she could go through with it with him again. But here was the opportunity. Staring her in the face.

"I really don't feel like it tonight," She told him quietly, placing a hand on his cheek to get him to stop.

"Why not?" He ran his hand down her thigh, leaning close.

"I just don't feel up to it."

"Baby-"

"Will you please not call me that?"

"What?"

"I hate it when you call me baby or honey. It irritates me."

"I'm sorry..."

She sighed and turned around, sitting with her back to the couch, no longer leaning up against him. "I'm just on edge right now."

"Let me help you get rid of some of that stress."

She shook her head. "Not tonight."

He sighed and leaned back against the couch like she was doing. "We haven't touched each other since I got back from Dallas. Relationships are supposed to be give and take and you're doing a whole lot of taking and not enough giving."

"How am I taking? This past week is the first time I've been around you in a month."

"Yeah, that's a problem, too."

"You're the one who decided to move."

"You're the one who wouldn't come with me. We're getting married. I thought you were supposed to want to be with me all them time. That's how I feel about you."

"Rhett, I'm not exactly like you. I'm not the kind of woman that needs a man by her side constantly. I thought you understood that when we got together."

He shook his head in disbelief. "I guess not."

"Yeah."

"So what does this mean?"

"You can let it mean whatever you want."

She stood up and walked into the kitchen, needing to get away before she spilled her secret and ruined everything. But then again, what would it really matter? Everything was so messed up, anyway. What could one little secret hurt?

* * *

><p>Brock took her to dinner on the other side of town the following night. It was a pretty nice restaurant and she appreciated the attention from him.<p>

"Six days, huh?"

Reba nodded, moving around the food on her plate with her fork. "Yep. Six days."

"Are you going to be okay?"

She nodded, exhaling slowly. "I will be once I get it over and done with."

"You know you don't have to go through with it."

She looked up slowly. "We have less than a week together. Can we keep the conversation light, please? I don't want to talk about the wedding or Rhett or anything."

"Okay. I'm sorry." He leaned back in the booth. "But you know you don't have to."

Reba dropped her fork onto her plate, listening to it clatter. "What do you suggest I do? Spend the rest of my life alone?"

"Wouldn't you rather than be married to someone you don't love or even like, for that matter?"

"I've been alone long enough. It isn't much fun."

"You could always be with me."

Reba laughed. "Yeah, right. You're funny."

Brock chuckled along with her. "Yeah. We'd never work again." He put his head down, taking a sip of his drink. "What a hell of a time that would be."

"It'd just be fighting all the time. Too many arguments. We work one way and only one." She held up a finger. "Just friends."

"Friends with benefits," He reminded her, winking.

She shook her head with a smile. "Don't remind me."

He leaned forward. "Would we really be that bad together, though?"

Reba cocked her head to the side. "What are you talking about, Brock? You have Barbra Jean."

He looked at her. "We all know that isn't going to last."

"Brock!"

"Well, I'm sorry. That's what happens when you get married to someone you don't love like a wife. Or a husband."

Reba rolled her eyes, standing from the booth. "I can't listen to this. I'm marrying him in six days whether you like it or not. Got it? You can either come to the wedding as my friend and support me, or you can not come and never speak to me again. It's your choice." With that, she walked out of the restaurant, leaving Brock to ponder on what he was going to do. He knew he had to stop her one way or another. He just wasn't sure how. He never was good at weighing his options.

* * *

><p>When Reba got home that night, Rhett was already asleep. She had told him she was going to see a movie with Barbra Jean. She expected him to question her but he didn't. He just told her he'd do a little light reading and go to bed.<p>

After showering and climbing into bed next to him, she turned off her lamp and snuggled down under the covers. She was almost asleep when her phone buzzed from her bedside table, indicating she had received a text message. She lifted her head and grabbed her phone, looking at the number. Brock.

Groaning softly, she unlocked her phone and read the text.

**I know you're upset with me and you don't agree with what I'm telling you, but I want you to know that if you ever, ever change your mind, I'll always be here to help you through it. Always.**


	12. Chapter 12

Her dress fit perfectly, the chairs were all set up in the yard, the minister was accounted for, the flowers hadn't died, and the cake was vanilla. Everything was going just the way it was planned. The guests were arriving and taking their seats as soft piano music played and everybody wore smiles on their faces. Everyone except the bride. She was a nervous wreck.

"Just take a deep breath in," Barbra Jean told her, inhaling. "And big breath out." She exhaled. "Do it with me."

"Stop it, Barbra Jean," Reba told her as she messed around with the food arrangements in the kitchen. "I'm under enough stress. I don't need you telling me how to do something I've been doing for forty-eight years, alright? Just back up." She shooed her away, but Barbra Jean wasn't having any of it. She was too busy trying to fuss with the flowers that were in Reba's hair.

"Your flowers are falling," Barbra Jean said.

"Well, fix them. And hurry. We got to get a move on."

So while Reba made sure the food looked nice for after the ceremony, Barbra Jean arranged the flowers in her hair so they would look nice and put together. A moment later, J.V. strolled in the kitchen in his suite and cowboy boots.

"Hey, carrot top," He greeted his daughter, hugging her immediately.

"Hey, Daddy." Reba hugged him back. "You look spiffy." She straightened his tie. "Mama getting ready?"

"Oh, yes. She's up there fiddling around with her hair."

Helen and J.V. had made it in last night from Muleshoe, Texas and had spent the night in Van and Cheyenne's old room. They had met Rhett several times before and they liked him okay. J.V. had already given them his blessing, but Reba noticed that whenever he was around Rhett, he kept a stern eye on him.

"Ten minutes, Mom," Cheyenne said, coming in the back door. She was wearing her matron of honor dress. A beautiful, silk purple one with a sash in front and crystals for the straps. Barbra Jean's looked identical, as well as Kyra's. "Oh, you look _so_ beautiful. I forgot how gorgeous the dress was."

"Thank you, honey. Where's Elizabeth?" Reba reached for the little white basket the girl would carry down the aisle to drop flower petals from. "She'll need her basket."

"I think she's upstairs with Meemaw. Van has Kasey. Do you still want him to hold the rings?"

Reba nodded, placing the basket on the counter and grabbing the tiny pillow her grandson would carry, putting it beside the basket. "He'll do just fine. All he's gotta do is walk about fifteen steps to the end of the yard." She turned around to grab a platter of cupcakes with purple and white frosting, her wedding colors, and walked over to the table to set them down. Once the ceremony was over, everyone would come in and grab their food before going back outside for the reception.

When Reba went to walk back to the counter, she caught a glimpse of Brock in his tuxedo, milling about near the French doors where she would walk out of. The sight of him made her breath catch. She looked further out into the yard and saw Rhett standing underneath the tree which had been strung with lights. The minister stood next to him, holding his little book in his hands, checking his watch.

As she watched everybody take their seat as the final minutes were counted down, she looked down at her engagement ring. It felt so cold sitting on her finger. Time seemed to stop as she twisted it off carefully, holding it in her right hand. She faintly heard her mother and Elizabeth walk into the kitchen, but she paid them no attention. She hardly heard Kyra and Jake enter the space as well. She drowned everybody out as she looked at the clock mounted on the wall. Four minutes until one o'clock. Her heart started to race and she backed up until she bumped into the table. That was what brought her out of her trance.

"Mom, are you okay?" She heard Cheyenne say.

"Reba?" Barbra Jean said next. "What's wrong?"

She put a hand to her head and pulled out a chair, sitting in it and trying to catch her breath. What was she about to do? Marry a man she didn't love and knew she never would? Would it be worth it? Brock said it wouldn't be. Brock said it was miserable. Brock. He was coming through the French doors. He must have seen her sit down in a panic.

"Hey, Reba, you okay?"

She heard his voice but didn't know how to respond. She just looked up at him as he stood in front of her.

"Are you okay?" He asked again.

This time she shook her head. The music started to play, Kyra and Barbra Jean's cue to walk out. But they were standing around Reba at the moment, unable to move until they knew what the problem was.

"Is she sick?" J.V. asked. "Darlin', did you eat something bad?"

Brock knelt down in front of her. "What's wrong?"

Tears formed in her eyes as she shook her head. "I can't-" She said before she let the tears fall. Her voice was shaking and she knew it would only be a matter of minutes before everyone realized she was still inside instead of outside where she was supposed to be.

"You can't what?" Brock asked.

"Can't get married," She whispered.

She knew she shouldn't have waited until sixty seconds before she was supposed to walk down the aisle, but she guessed that's what it took for her to realize she was making the wrong decision.

As the wedding march began, her tears came faster.

"Mom," Cheyenne said, kneeling down beside her father. "What's wrong?"

"It's complicated..." Brock said, trying not to reveal too much information.

"I can't marry him," Reba told her daughter, trying to hold back the tears and the ache in her throat. "I'm sorry, but I can't."

"It's okay," Cheyenne told her. "Why can't you marry him?"

"Reba?"

Everybody looked up to see Rhett coming in through the French doors.

"Reba, what's wrong? You're supposed to be walking down the aisle about this time." He chuckled before stopping. "Honey, are you crying?"

Brock sighed and stood up, moving out of the way to let Rhett walk to her. Cheyenne stepped back as well as Rhett grabbed her hands, kneeling down like Brock had just done.

"Baby, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm scared," She said, her bottom lip quivering. She hated herself for crying in front of everybody, but that was the least of her worries at the moment.

"Baby, there's no reason to be scared." He leaned forward and hugged her, grasping her shoulders before kissing her forehead. "Just come on out. We can walk out together if you want."

She shook her head. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Baby, what are you sorry for?" He tucked a curl behind her ear and caressed her cheek with his thumb. "What's the matter?"

"I can't marry you, Rhett. I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I can't do it. I'm sorry."

"Baby, what are you saying?"

"I don't love you."

* * *

><p>She didn't know why she thought he would take it well. She was the love of his life. If it were happening to her, she'd be crushed. She just wished it hadn't ended in him packing his belongings and leaving without her explaining herself further.<p>

The day after the called off wedding, the day that was supposed to be set aside for the honeymoon, she was off from work. She sat in front of the television most of the day, not really feeling like getting up and doing anything. Having Rhett gone was supposed to make things better, but just like she knew it would, she felt alone.

That's when Brock stopped by.

"Hey," He said quietly, coming in the front door. He saw Reba on the couch, still in her pajamas at four in the afternoon. "How are you holding up?"

She shrugged, not offering an explanation.

"I thought you'd be happy." He sat down beside her. "He's finally gone. You got what you wanted."

Reba turned her head towards him. "It's not what I wanted. It's what you wanted."

"It's what you needed."

"To feel alone? Rhett was going to take care of that. I was supposed to walk down the aisle and marry him yesterday, no problem. But you went and put ideas in my head and made me stop and think. I wasn't supposed to stop and think, Brock! I was just supposed to go!"

"You'll thank me one day."

"Yeah, well, that day isn't today, so why don't you just leave."

"You want me to leave?"

"Yes. And this whole thing we've got going on? That ends now."

"Reba-"

"Don't." She looked him in the eye. "I've had to listen to you tell me what you think is best for months and I'm sick of it. I can make my own decisions. I'm not a little girl."

Brock stood from the couch, going to the door. But before he left, he turned to her and said, "Just remember what I told you. Please?"

"Leave. Now." She pointed at the door and waited for him to walk out of it. When he did, she curled up in a little ball and let the tears come.


	13. Chapter 13

The cheesecake didn't make things better like it was supposed to. Reba shoved her late night snack away from her and laid her head down on the counter. It was nearing two in the morning and Reba hadn't gone to sleep yet. Just days before, she had stopped her wedding and told her ex-husband she didn't want to see him anymore. The two things that were keeping her together, she had forced away and she wasn't sure how to get her stability back. Before Rhett, things had been fine. Lonely but fine. Then she started to depend on him. Then she started to depend on Brock. Now she was back to nothing. It was a shock to her heart, that was for sure.

"I can't keep doing this," She whispered to the dark room. "It's gonna kill me one day. I can't keep depending on other people to make me happy. I've always done this." She lifted her head, looking up as if wanting an answer from her Heavenly Father. "God, how am I supposed to make myself happy? I've always just let everyone else do it for me. I let Brock make me happy, then the kids and then Rhett and Brock again. But how do I do it on my own?"

_You're not supposed to be alone_, she heard a small, still voice inside her heart say. _I never intended for you to be alone. You know where your true happiness is._

"No," She said, a bit more firmly this time. As if she was speaking to someone in the room with her. "That's not what's right for me. Not this time."

* * *

><p>"Hey, Reba."<p>

Reba looked to her right as she headed to her office the next morning. Daniel Stewart, one of the other realtors, was standing from his seat, waving her down.

She stopped. "Hi, Daniel."

He walked up to her, hands in his pockets. "I heard about what happened with your wedding and all. I just wanted to say I'm sorry to hear it."

Reba tried to smile. She had invited a few people from her office, so she guessed word got around rather quickly that she had had a mental breakdown sixty seconds before her trip down the aisle was due.

"Thanks, Daniel. I really appreciate that."

He smiled, his eyes behind his black rimmed glasses lighting up. "Look, I know it might be too soon, but I was wondering..."

"Yes?"

"Would you like to have dinner with me on Tuesday?"

Reba tried not to let her jaw drop. This man had some nerve to ask her out knowing what he knew. But she had to hand it to him. She wouldn't have had the guts to do something like that.

"Well, Daniel, I-"

"Nothing serious. Just a little dinner. On me, of course. What do you say?"

She thought about Rhett and how she had asked him out, initially.

"Sure. Tuesday at six?"

* * *

><p>"So, let me get this straight: A mere fourteen days before calling off your wedding, you're going out on a date with a guy you work with?"<p>

Reba nodded at Barbra Jean as she stood in front of her bathroom mirror, getting ready for her dinner with Daniel.

"Don't you think it's too soon?" Barbra Jean asked, standing next to Reba, staring at her friend's reflection in shock. "What brought this on? Why would you want to date after things ended so badly with Rhett?"

Reba threw her mascara on the counter with a bit of rage, looking at the blonde next to her. "Come again?" She said, her accent coming through a bit more as her anger progressed.

"I didn't mean it like that."

"Sure you did. I mean, who'd want to date me? I'm a basket case. At least that's what Rhett told me." She pulled her lip gloss from her makeup bag and put it on.

"He said that?"

"Sure did. Right before he stormed out."

"Reba, you're not a basket case. Far from it. I'm just concerned that you're getting way too ahead of yourself. Maybe you need to take it slow, get over Rhett first."

"I was over Rhett before we even started going out." She turned to Barbra Jean. "I'm fine, okay? You don't need to worry about me." She shut off the light in her bathroom and turned on her heel to enter her room, Barbra Jean following.

"It's not just me who's worried," The blonde continued. "It's Cheyenne, Van, even Jake. If Kyra weren't off at college, she'd be worried, too. Now, you haven't spoken to anyone about Rhett since you called off the wedding. Nobody even knows why you did it. You're not acting like yourself, Reba."

"Believe me, the fact that I didn't marry him was me being myself." She went to her closet and pulled a pair of nice jeans from a hanger.

"Why'd you do it?"

"I didn't love him, Barbra Jean. I couldn't marry a man I didn't love."

"Then why didn't you stop it sooner? Why did you let it go on for so long?"

She picked a dressy blouse from her closet. "I was very confused."

Barbra Jean was silent as Reba laid her clothes out on her bed before going back to the closet to look for a pair of shoes.

"What changed your mind?" She finally asked.

"Nobody changed my mind."

"I didn't say who. I said what."

Reba paused before shoving her high heels Rhett always wanted her to wear aside to grab her cowboy boots.

"It doesn't matter."

* * *

><p>It was a nice date. Daniel was a great guy. He was a bit younger than her, but she could get over that. He seemed mature for his age, anyway. He could hold an intellectual conversation better than some men her age and she was impressed with his knowledge. He had even asked her out again, but Reba, playing hard to get, said she'd call him.<p>

She wasn't sure if she'd go out with him again, but it was nice to be able to leave the house and just have a fun time without knowing she had to go back home to Rhett. It was a freeing feeling of sorts.

As she drove up her driveway and parked her car, she smiled faintly as she thought about Daniel and all his jokes. He had made several that evening that made her laugh out loud. He was a character.

She walked up the driveway with her house keys in hand and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw someone stand from the porch swing. She stopped, heart beating fast. That's when the motion sensor light came on, revealing Brock.

Reba put a hand over her chest and looked at him with wide eyes. "You scared me half to death." She whacked him on the arm.

"Ow!" He rubbed the place her hand had just been. "Must you abuse me every time you see me?"

"Yes. Now move." She tried to shove him out of the way, as he was blocking the door.

"Reba, I haven't talked to you in two weeks. Don't make me leave again. Just tell me how you are."

"I'm fine. Move."

"No, you're not fine." He moved his head a bit to look at her since she wouldn't look at him. "You've hardly left your house."

"Are you spying on me?"

"No, but we do have a son together who is concerned about your well-being."

Reba rolled her eyes. "Jake doesn't understand what's going on. I appreciate his concern, but I'm fine." She tried to move past him again. "Now, please move over so I can go in. I'm tired."

"Just tell me why you're pushing me away. Everything I've done was to help you." He grasped her shoulders. "I never wanted to hurt you."

"But you did." She shrugged out of his hands and pointed at him. "If you would have just kept your mouth shut and kept out of my business, I would be fine right now. I wouldn't be a nervous wreck."

"No, but you'd be a miserable one."

"No, I would be fine!" She nearly yelled.

Brock stepped back, staring at her as she raised her voice. "I only did it because I cared for you. If you can't see that-"

"If you had cared for me, you would have trusted my decisions and left me alone." She pointed to herself.

He stepped back up to her. This time, instead of grabbing her shoulders, he took a more gentle approach. He caressed her cheek and looked at her square in the eye. "I promise that I only did it to save you from what I had to deal with." He leaned in and touched his lips to hers, just barely. He hardly felt the touch, but it was something. He had missed her so much in those two weeks and to be able to kiss her again, if only for a moment, was like heaven.

But she pulled away, her eyes raging. "I told you that we were over." She shoved him back. "Don't touch me again."

"Reba-"

"That's all you wanted me for, wasn't it?"

"What?"

"For sex. That's all you cared about."

"What? No-"

"That's why you broke Rhett and I apart. You wanted me all to yourself. I was just a sex object to you."

"No, you weren't!"

"Then why did you kiss me just then?"

"Because I missed you-"

"Missed having me in your bed?"

"No!"

"You're disgusting. Get away from me." She shoved him out of the way and this time he let her.

"Reba, you know none of that is true. You know."

She unlocked her door and opened it, walking inside and turning to look at him one more time.

"That's not true," He said again. "I swear it's not."

"Go find another whore. I'm done being one."

Then she slammed the door in his face before sliding to the floor and crying by the staircase until she fell asleep.


	14. Chapter 14

Daniel and Reba went out for a second date that weekend. She truly enjoyed his company and he kept her mind off Brock and his stupidity. For the time being, anyway. He was very gentlemanly and had great southern values. He was quiet, but very strong in his opinions and beliefs and Reba found that when they were overcharged for wine at the restaurant, he spoke his mind about it instead of letting it go like Rhett would have. He wasn't hard to look at, either.

When he drove her home, he got out and walked her to her door, something he hadn't done on their first date. Perhaps he felt a bit more comfortable.

"So," He said as they stopped on her porch. "Did you have a nice time?"

Reba smiled at him. "I sure did. I haven't laughed that hard in months."

"I could say the same." He tilted his head. "I never would have thought you were so fun. At the office, you're just so into your work."

She shrugged. "I like to keep business, business. When you're at work, you should work."

He held both of hands up. "Don't take that as an insult. I think it's great you're able to be in a working state of mind constantly. I'd love to learn how to do that. I'm so goofy at the office. I'm sure you've heard Mr. McKenzie's lectures at the meetings about fooling around in the work area. He's talking about me."

"I figured." She giggled. "I've seen some your get-togethers with some of the other realtors in the break room."

"Hey, those get-togethers are fun. You should join us some time."

She shook her head, grinning. "I might."

"Or...we could do this again sometime."

"Sure. When and what did you have in mind?"

"Dinner and a movie? Next Saturday?"

"It's a date."

"Great. I'll see you at work tomorrow." He leaned forward to hug her and Reba couldn't help but blush when he kissed her on the cheek. He backed off the porch with a wave and a smile, Reba doing the same as she watched him leave.

Once he drove away, she unlocked the house and walked in, hearing her phone go off as she latched the door again. She hung up her purse before pulling her phone from her pocket, reading the text message she had received as she walked up the stairs.

**Am I allowed to text you?**

Brock. She rolled her eyes as she peeked in Jake's room. He was sound asleep. After she closed his door quietly, she retreated to her own room, wondering if she should text him back.

**No.**

She figured that's all she would say and if he kept talking to her, she would block his number. There was no reason for them to converse with one another anymore. They had two kids that were grown and moved off and if Jake wanted to talk to his father, he could do so on his own accord. He didn't need his mother arranging visits anymore.

She put her phone on silent before plugging it into its charger, taking her boots off and tossing them in her closet. As she went to pull her shirt over her head, her hand grazed her breast and she winced in pain. Frowning, she placed her blouse on her bed and touched the spot once more. Again, waves of pain shot throughout her chest. Puzzled, she pushed a bit harder, wondering what in the world could be causing such discomfort. The more she poked and prodded, the more it hurt and a realization came to her mind. What she was feeling wasn't normal. You weren't supposed to feel lumps in your chest. You weren't supposed to be nearly in tears when you took your shirt off. It was the same thing that took her grandmother from her. Her mama had it, too, but beat it before it could claim her. Breast cancer ran in the family and Reba knew she was at risk for it, Kyra and Cheyenne was as well, but she never thought it would happen to her. She had been schooled about doing self-checks and whatnot but throughout the years, failed to do so. She guessed her lack of concern finally caught up with her.

As she slowly changed into her pajamas and climbed into her bed, she felt her eyes begin to fill up with tears. She turned off her lamp and buried her face in her pillow, willing herself not to cry. Nothing had been confirmed yet, but she knew deep down that this was just another roadblock she was going to have to face. She wondered what else life was going to throw her way.

* * *

><p>Her next doctor's appointment confirmed her fears. She had scheduled an emergency meeting with her doctor the next morning and she had gone in wondering what she would do should the diagnosis be a bad one.<p>

"Ms. Hart," Doctor Hill said, sitting down with her chart on a rolling stool. "I have the results of the mammogram here in this chart."

Reba nodded, folding her hands in her lap. "Just tell me."

"You do have breast cancer."

Reba closed her eyes and vaguely wished that she had brought someone, anyone along to hear these words with her.

"Now," The doctor continued. "We'll have to run some more tests to determine what stage the cancer is in which will help us know which steps to take to get rid of it."

Reba nodded, opening her eyes once more. "Are my daughters at any higher risk to develop this? What can they do to prevent it?"

"Honestly, just be healthy. Don't drink more than one alcoholic beverage a day, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Those sorts of things."

"But, doc, I did all that. Why did I get it if I made sure I was doing everything I was supposed to?"

"Bad things happen to good people, I'm afraid, but don't write yourself a death certificate. We're coming out with new breakthroughs in cancer research everyday. So many women have beaten this disease. If you fight, you can win. Surround yourself with people who love you, who are gonna walk you through this." He began writing some notes. "Now, I'll schedule further screening for later in the week, alright?"

Reba nodded, unable to speak. She wasn't sure why God chose her to be the next victim of this disease called cancer. She had been kicked down, pushed down and spun around for so long that she didn't even know which way was up. She wondered when she was going to catch a break.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Just to let you all know, I didn't get an email saying that the last chapter had been posted, so just in case you all didn't get an email for it either but got one for this chapter, go back and read chapter fourteen before reading this one or it'll ruin it. Thanks. (:**

* * *

><p>She went in for more screening later that week and Dr. Hill said he'd call her in to the office when the results were in. While she waited, Reba was a nervous wreck. She began thinking about making a will and wondering where Jake would go should she pass on. It made her absolutely uneasy and it made her feel even more alone. She knew it wasn't good to walk through this dark valley alone, but the last thing she wanted to do was burden someone with it. But she knew she had to.<p>

She sat at her kitchen table going over some work papers, only half paying attention to them when she sighed loudly, her mind getting the best of her. It was always putting dark thoughts in her head. That was when she decided she would tell the next person that walked in the room. She had to let somebody know or she would go insane.

"Grandma!"

Reba looked up to see the cutest little blonde girl run into her kitchen.

"Hey, girly!" Reba scooped Elizabeth up as she jumped into her grandmother's arms. "What are you doin'?"

"Barbra Jean and Henry and Kasey and me just got back from the zoo!"

"Oh?"

About that time, the three Elizabeth had mentioned walked into the room, minus Kasey. He was carried by Barbra Jean.

"Did you have fun?" Reba asked.

"We had loads of fun!" Barbra Jean exclaimed. "We got you a t-shirt."

"I was talking to 'Lizabeth, but thank you, Barbra Jean." Reba shook her head at Elizabeth with a smile. "Did you have fun, darlin'?"

The little girl nodded with a huge grin. "I wish you could come with us next time."

"Well, maybe I can."

"Yeah, Reba, it'll be fun!" Barbra Jean said, sitting down in one of the chairs. "We can go next weekend."

"We'll see." She looked at Elizabeth again. "Why don't you and Henry go play upstairs while me and Aunt Barbra Jean talk for a minute, okay?"

"Okay!" She wrapped her arms around Reba's neck for a split second before jumping down and grabbing Henry by the hand, dragging him off to play.

When they rounded the corner and were out of sight, Barbra Jean said, "Did you really want to talk to me?" She gently rocked seven-month-old Kasey back and forth.

Reba nodded, stacking the papers she had been working on. "I do, but I don't."

"What do you mean?"

Sighing, Reba looked up at her friend with her chin in her hand. "I went to the doctor the other day because I noticed something that was totally abnormal."

"And? Was everything okay?"

"No. No, everything was not okay."

"Reba, you're really starting to freak me out, here..."

"I have breast cancer."

Barbra Jean didn't speak for a moment. She just let her mouth drop open a bit and stopped rocking Kasey.

"You...you what?"

"I have breast cancer."

"What? Wh...how? When?"

Reba shrugged. "It runs in my family. I lost my grandma to it. My mama had it, but she beat it. I always knew that there was a chance I could get it, but I guess I just never really thought it would happen to me." She looked down. "Nobody ever thinks it'll happen to them."

"Do you know how bad it is?"

"Not yet. I'll find out later this week."

"Am I the only person you've told?"

"Yes. And I'd like to keep it that way if you don't mind."

"You're not even going to tell Brock or the kids?"

"I'm not going to tell the kids, no. Not yet. Especially not Brock."

"Why especially not Brock?"

She sighed, not really wanting to go into specifics. "Him and I just aren't getting along all that well these days."

"Yeah, I noticed that. What happened?"

"He just really screwed up and that's all I care to say."

"Well, he's good at doing that." Reba nodded as Barbra Jean went on. "Look, Reba. I want you to know that whatever happens, I'll always be there for you. Whatever you need, just let me know."

"I really appreciate that, Barbra Jean, but I think I'll manage just fine. I don't want to be treated any different."

"Fair enough. But just know that I love you, alright?"

* * *

><p>The day that Dr. Hill decided to call her to the office to discuss the screening results turned out to be a rainy one. She shook off her umbrella and left it by the door as she entered the building, letting the receptionist know who she was and what she was there for. They told her to go right on back.<p>

As she waited in Dr. Hill's cozy office, she tried not to think about what might happen should her cancer be in stage four. Her mind kept showing her these awful scenarios where she was laying in a casket, her family all around her. She shook her head of those images as Dr. Hill entered the room.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Hart," He greeted her. "How are you today?"

"I don't know. You tell me." She blinked at him as he sat down at his desk before her.

Chuckling a bit, Dr. Hill opened her file. "Well, I do have good news."

"What is it?"

"You cancer is only in stage one."

She let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding. "Really?"

"Really. We'll start radiation therapy immediately and more than likely, we can end this whole thing."

"No chemo?"

"We really don't do chemotherapy with stage one cancers. That's really for stages two through three, but for zero and one, radiation therapy is the way to go."

Reba nodded as he began telling her the specifics. Even though the cancer was there, the fact that they had caught it before it had spread or gotten worse made her want to cry with joy. She really had a chance of beating it.

* * *

><p>When Reba drove home, she couldn't help but say a prayer, thanking God for the news she had received. It wasn't necessarily great news, but it wasn't a death sentence. She would beat the disease and be able to tell her kids when it was all over and there were no more threats.<p>

As she walked up the front walk up to the front porch, her eye caught something that sat on the welcome mat by the door. It was a beautiful arrangement of tulips, her favorite flower. Kneeling down to pick them up, she noticed a card.

**Just thinking of you.**

She smiled as she lifted the flowers, smelling them as she unlocked the front door. Daniel. He really was a sweetheart with a gentleman quality about him. The fact that he didn't sign his name made her think he wanted to make a game out of it. Maybe she would give him something really thoughtful back. It made her smile how there were still nice men out there. She was really glad to be getting to know one of them.


	16. Chapter 16

Reba went to work the next day with a small gift bag in her hands. She had stopped by a small shop downtown before coming into work to pick up a little something for Daniel.

When she walked up to his desk after arriving at the office, he was already hard at work.

"Hey," She said with a smile.

"Hi!" He looked up at her with his wide eyes. "Good morning to you."

"And to you as well." She held out the green gift bag. "I got this for you."

"For me?"

She nodded. "Since you were so sweet with the flowers you gave me yesterday."

He grinned and peered into the bag. "You didn't have to get me anything."

"I wanted to, though. I thought you'd like it."

He pulled out a little stand-up calendar that had a funny quote for each day.

"I've been wanting to get one of these for my desk!" He looked up at her. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome. And thank you for the flowers."

"It's no big thing."

"Are we still on for that wine tasting on Friday?"

He nodded. "I still want to go if you do."

"I do."

He winked. "It's a date."

* * *

><p>That evening, Reba was home with Jake, watching a movie with him. She had insisted that he stay in since he had been going out so much. He wasn't happy at first, but Reba was pleased to find him laughing several times along with her throughout the film. She wished that they could have this bonding time more often.<p>

The end of the movie was nearing and it was beginning to get dark outside when Barbra Jean came over.

"Hey, Reba."

Both mother and son looked over at the big blonde who had just come through the door.

"What are y'all doin'?"

"Watching a movie," Reba told her, slightly annoyed that she would interrupt her movie with Jake. "Trying to, anyway."

"Oh. I'm sorry to intrude, but I really need to talk to you."

"Me?" Jake asked.

"No, your mom. Reba?" She looked at the redhead with pleading eyes. "Really quick?"

Reba sighed, standing.

"Want me to pause the movie?"

Reba shook her head at her son. "Nah. It's almost over. You just watch the ending."

The two women made their way into the kitchen where Barbra Jean proceeded to close the doors to the window that separated the living room and the kitchen.

"Barbra Jean, what is going on?" Reba folded her arms, leaning against the counter. "I never get Jake to do anything with me and you have to barge in and disrupt our time?"

"I'm sorry, but this couldn't wait."

"Well, what is it?"

"I'm moving to Dallas."

Reba's mouth dropped open. "What?"

Barbra Jean nodded. "Yeah. I didn't want to tell you until I was sure that you were okay and everything. Since the cancer is in stage one and your radiation is already going okay, I figured now would be a good time to let you know."

"Just because this is all going well doesn't mean you should tell me this!"

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not fond of everybody just up and leaving me! I thought you were over this. You haven't brought up Dallas in months."

"I know. I tried to forget about it, but I can't. Have you ever wanted something so bad that it's all you can think about? You feel like you're nothing if you don't have that thing?"

Reba nodded, wondering if Barbra Jean knew what she was referring to by nodding.

"Well, that's how I feel about Dallas. I've always wanted to live there. I even tried to talk Brock into moving there when we first got married, but he insisted he had to stay for the kids. Well, they're grown up now."

"And you feel like he can just leave them?"

"No. He's not coming with me."

"What do you mean?"

"We're getting a divorce."

"You're what?"

"Getting a divorce. I can't keep being held back and that's exactly what Brock is doing. And he knows it, which is why he suggested it in the first place."

"He...he suggested that you two divorce? But he was the one who talked you out of it a year ago when you wanted to move to Little Rock!"

"He knows that our issues with one other are just too complicated. I feel like I'm being caged in and he feels like he's in a friendship type relationship instead of a marriage."

"And you're okay with this?"

She shrugged. "I guess if we were actually in love when we got married this would be harder, but we weren't. We got married because we felt like we had to and for the past seven years, we've been miserable."

Reba instantly thought of what she almost did by marrying Rhett. As Barbra Jean spoke of the very thing she had been going through just weeks before, Reba became relieved that she didn't go through with it. And she had Brock to think. She saw what was unfolding right before her and she knew that was where she and Rhett ultimately would have ended up.

"So you're going to go to Dallas and Brock is going to stay here?" Reba asked slowly. "Is Henry going with you?"

Barbra Jean nodded. "He is. It will be an uncontested divorce, of course. Three months and it'll be over. It's kind of bittersweet."

"How is a marriage ending bittersweet?"

"Because I know that he has a chance with the woman he truly loves. I got in the way of a timeless love and now I'm stepping out from in between it."

"What exactly do you mean?"

"You know what I mean, Reba. Don't play dumb. You're not a very good liar, remember?"

"You can't possibly think that Brock and I would _ever_ work again, do you?"

"I do. You didn't break up because you wanted to or because you didn't love each other, you broke up because of me. You never would have gotten a divorce if I hadn't been in the picture."

"Yes, we would have. We had been separated for nearly a year and-"

"Reba, be honest with yourself."

"I am. I don't even want to be with Brock anymore and I doubt he wants to be with me. I have a boyfriend right now, anyway."

Barbra Jean's eyes widened and she cocked her head. "Well, that's surprising."

Reba rolled her eyes. "Thanks..."

"I didn't mean it like that. I'm just surprised that you're dating so soon after Rhett."

"I needed to get over what happened."

"You never really told me what really went down."

"And I doubt I ever will."

Barbra Jean sighed and shook her head. "Well, whatever you decide to do, I hope you end up with what you wanted when you were a little girl. Every woman deserves at least one of her dreams to come true."

* * *

><p>After Barbra Jean left, Reba urged Jake to get to bed and turned down the lights before going into the kitchen to clean up a bit before heading off to bed herself. As she was wiping down the counters, she happened to glance up into the living room just in time to see the motion detector light come on. She suspected it was Barbra Jean coming back over for whatever reason and decided to go let her in before she knocked and woke Jake up.<p>

When she made her way to the door and opened it, she saw that it wasn't her friend but another basket of tulips sitting where the others had been placed. Picking them up with a smile, she shut the door and set them on the table beside the couch, taking the card from where it laid in the stems.

A simple smiley face was all that was on this card. And she took the flowers from Daniel as a sign that she needed to move on from her dream of being with someone who would never work out again. Brock was her past and Daniel could be her future.


	17. Chapter 17

The radiation therapy would make her tired. After work, she'd go lie down on the couch and fall asleep there only to wake up hours later to go upstairs to her bedroom to fall asleep again. It went on that way for a few weeks. Jake helped with the housework and Barbra Jean came over from time to time to make dinner. Her and Brock had parted ways already. He was at his condo and Barbra Jean was staying at the house with Henry. It was just like it was a few years before, only now it was a more permanent solution.

"Hey, sleepyhead."

Reba shuffled into the kitchen at around six thirty on a Monday night to find Barbra Jean making a pot roast in the crock pot.

"What are you doing?" She asked, slowly going to the refrigerator for a bottle of water.

"I'm makin' dinner, what's it look like?" She slowly stirred the contents of the pot and motioned Reba to sit down at the table. "It's almost done. Go sit down and I'll get the plates."

Reba made her way to the table as she tried to wake her brain up. She was still a bit groggy from her nap.

"Where's Jake?" She asked.

"He's out with friends, as usual. I told him if he mopped in here he could go." Barbra Jean set two plates of roast and potatoes on the table. "You know how it is. You have to bribe kids to do their chores nowadays."

Reba nodded slowly, taking a drink of her water.

"So how have you been?" Barbra Jean asked. "Everything going okay?"

"I guess so. As well as they can be."

"That's good, that's good. Did the doctor say when you'd be done with radiation?"

"Few weeks."

"Oh, yeah? That's good news."

"I'm ready to be done with it. I'm so sick of being tired all the time." She lifted her head and began to eat. "But let's not talk about that. How are things with Brock?"

"Good. everything will be final two weeks from today. I've been looking at apartments in Dallas, you know. Did I tell you I got a job offer?"

"No, you didn't tell me that."

"Well, I did. I'll be doing what I'm doing now, only for a bigger market. More money, more opportunities."

"Sounds like things are really starting to fall into place for you."

"I know. And it's about time. I was starting to think if it would ever happen for me."

"Does Brock know about your job?"

"He does. And he's happy for me. I think he's happy for himself, too. Did you know about his girlfriend?"

Reba looked up at her friend. "His girlfriend?"

Barbra Jean nodded. "Yeah. She's really sweet."

"You've met her?"

Again, she nodded.

"Isn't that kind of awkward?" Reba asked in shock.

"Not really. We all know Brock and I are over. There aren't any hard feelings. I knew he wasn't going to stay single, anyway. What's the use in dragging it out? Henry's met her, too and he adores her."

"How long has he been dating?"

"I don't know if Brock wants you to know. I probably shouldn't have said anything in the first place."

"Well, tough. You started it, so finish it. What's her name?"

Barbra Jean shook her head. "When he wants you to know, he'll tell you."

Reba sat back in her chair. Barbra Jean was just saying a few weeks ago how she thought her and Brock should get back together and now all of a sudden she's so happy for him and his new girlfriend? After saying Brock wanted to try to work it out with her? Reba just didn't understand her ex-husband sometimes. He was always acting on petty feelings and talking without thinking. It did him more damage than good.

"Well," Reba finally said. "I hope he's happy."

"That didn't sound sinister at all."

"I didn't mean it in a sinister way. I really do hope he's happy. He...deserves it." She nearly choked on the last words. Ever since her affair with Brock, even though it only lasted less than a month, she had grown closer to him. Close enough to get back together with him, she didn't know, but she guessed he made his decision. And she didn't really blame him. She was the one that told him it was over and not to speak to her again. Still, in an odd way she was angry at him.

"Aren't you dating somebody?"

"Yes."

"Is it that guy you told me about like, two months ago."

"Daniel, yes."

"How do you like him? Is he helping you get over what happened with Rhett?"

"I told you I was over Rhett before I even met him."

"You keep saying that. What does that even mean?"

"Nothing. Just drop it."

"Why are you getting so defensive? Are you upset that I told you Brock had a girlfriend?"

"No."

"Yes, you are. Why? Is it because I told you that you two should get back together?"

"No."

"Reba..."

"I'm fine, Barbra Jean. I'm tired. Can we please just not talk about this?"

"Fine. Whatever you say."

The two were silent as they ate. Nothing more was said until Barbra Jean stood from her chair to put her plate in the sink.

"Oh, by the way, those flowers in the living room are for you. They came while you were sleeping."

"Who are they from?"

"I don't know."

Reba stood, walking into the living room and over to the flowers. They were roses this time. There was no card, but she knew Daniel had surprised her again. It made her smile despite her conversation with Barbra Jean earlier. She'd have to find another gift for him. After all, their three month anniversary was coming up. She felt like a high-school girl again as she carried the roses to the kitchen to display them. It was rather silly, celebrating a three month anniversary, but Daniel said he had something special planned, so she figured she'd get him a nice gift since he kept sending her flowers. She really felt that they were starting to get close.


	18. Chapter 18

The next evening, Reba had sat down to read a book on the couch. She had the house to herself and figured she was overdo for some time to herself. Her book of choice was some romance novel she had read a thousand times before, but she knew it was a good one, so she pulled it off the bookshelf again. As she curled up in one of the living room chairs, her phone went off.

**Hi. :-)**

She smiled at Daniel's text. He was forever sending her little texts just to make her smile. Just that day, she found a bottle of new perfume sitting in a gift bag on her desk. The kind things he did for her were seemingly endless.

**Hi, how's your night?**

She hoped he would respond quickly. She did enjoy chatting with him.

**Lovely. Just wishing I was with you.**

She blushed and rolled her eyes. He was quite the charmer.

**Oh, really? What are you up to?**

**What did you have in mind?**

She chuckled, thinking a moment before responding.

**Maybe if you're missing me so bad, you should come over...**

**Be there in ten.**

Reba jumped up and tidied the living room a little. Before she knew it, the doorbell rang and she straightened out her clothes and hair before answering the door with a smile.

"Hi." She tilted her head flirtatiously and opened the door wider. "Come on in."

"Thanks." He walked in and looked around. "Wow. This is a really nice house. Can't believe I'm finally seeing the inside of it."

She closed the door and walked up behind him, looping her arm through his. "Thank you."

He looked down at her as she glanced up at him. They held each other's gaze a moment before Daniel grabbed her face in his hands and kissed her full on the mouth. She immediately responded and wrapped her arms around his neck, forcing her body closer to his. Her mind wandered to what he would think should they go any further. She certainly wasn't his age anymore.

Her mind drifted away from those thoughts as his hands trailed down her back to grasp her backside. Her eyes fluttered open and she pulled back from the kiss.

"Well," She said. "A little forward, are we?"

"You invited me over."

"True."

She leaned in for another kiss and began to walk backwards, hoping he'd follow her upstairs. She realized what this could mean as far as their relationship went, but she was just ready for a man to treat her like a woman again. She didn't want to be babied or put up on a pedestal like Rhett did. She wanted to be treated as a partner, as an equal. Even though she wasn't quite sure she loved Daniel yet, it could lead there. He was obviously ready to make a commitment.

When they got halfway up the steps, however, a knock at the door stalled their movements. They broke the kiss with a small pop and breathless words.

"Hang on just a second." She patted his chest and walked past him to answer the door. When she did, she certainly wasn't expecting who stood there.

"What are you doing here?"

Brock shrugged, placing his hands in his pockets. "Just thought I'd drop by."

"Do you have any sense of timing? It's almost nine o'clock. I was headed to bed."

"With him?" Brock pointed behind her and as Reba turned around, she was surprised to see Daniel walking up to her protectively.

"Who's he?" Daniel asked.

"Who are you?" Brock countered.

"Brock, Daniel. Daniel, Brock," Reba said. "Boyfriend, meet ex-husband. Ex-husband, meet boyfriend. There. Now that y'all have met, Brock can leave. Bye now." She went to shut the door, but Brock held his hand to it to stop it from latching.

"I came here to talk to you," He said. "Not to have you slam a door in my face."

Reba sighed, opening the door. "Hurry up," She said.

Brock walked in and Daniel awkwardly stood there for a moment before beginning to walk backwards. "I'm...gonna go find the bathroom, okay?" He disappeared up the stairs as Brock shut the door behind him.

"Who's the kid?" He asked when Daniel was out of sight.

"Don't be rude," Reba told him with her arms folded.

"I'm not. I just asked a simple question."

"I told you. He's my boyfriend."

"Oh, he must be the one Barbra Jean told me about."

"Barbra Jean told you I was dating?"

"Yes. Among other things."

Reba narrowed her eyes. "What other things?"

"The other things I came here to talk to you about."

"Like what?"

"The cancer."

Reba's eyes widened and she let her mouth drop open. "I told her not to tell anyone, especially you and the kids! Why does she always do the exact opposite of everything I say?"

"Would you calm down? She only told me because I asked her about you and how you were doing. She didn't seem to think you were doing well, so I asked her what was wrong."

Reba shook her head and folded her arms. "Did she tell the kids?"

"No. She said she wasn't going to and asked me not to. But, Reba, I want to make sure you're okay. I've stayed away long enough. You can't expect me to keep myself scarce after all we've been through."

"Why not?"

"Because, like I told you months ago, I cared about your feelings. You have to stop being so bitter towards me. You've obviously gotten over Rhett because you have this new guy. So, can you please stop crucifying me?"

Reba stared at him. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. If she was truly over Rhett like she said she was, she wouldn't be mad at Brock any longer. But she was, and it wasn't necessarily about him breaking her and Rhett apart. She kept thinking about Barbra Jean mentioning his girlfriend.

"I guess I can be the bigger person and let it go," She finally said.

"Okay. That's all I ask. I want to be friends again."

She looked up at him. "That's all we're going to be. And without benefits this time." She held up a finger. "All that did was get us in trouble and get you a divorce."

"That's not why Barbra Jean and I are divorcing. I never told her about our affair."

"I didn't, either."

"Good. Nobody has to. We can all go on about our lives." He gave his head a nod in affirmation before asking, "So, are you doing okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm sure Barbra Jean told you, but the cancer was only in stage one. I'm almost done with radiation therapy. I'll tell the kids after everything's over and there are no more threats. I don't want to worry them."

He rolled his eyes with a smile. "Typical Red."

She had to smile with him. "Well, when do I get to meet this girlfriend of yours?"

He stopped and looked at her. "What?"

"Barbra Jean told me. You got to meet Daniel. When can I meet the future third Mrs. Brock Hart?"

Brock laughed. "You've already met her."

"I've already met her?"

"Yep."

Her face showed her confused mind. "What's her name?"

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough." He winked and pointed to the tulips on the end-table with his head. "Are those from lover boy?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't call him that. And yes, they are. Speaking of _Daniel_, if you don't mind..." She gestured towards the door and he lifted his eyes as if asking her to explain further.

"Don't make me ask you to leave, Brock," She told him with a mischievous look in her eye.

He smiled and walked towards the door. "I'll talk to you later. That okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah, that's okay."

"Good. Love ya."

"Love ya, too."


	19. Chapter 19

"So, your birthday is coming up soon."

Reba looked up from her desk to see Daniel standing in the doorway of her office. She gave him a smile and responded with, "That it is. Why do you bring it up?"

He shrugged, walking in to sit down. "I just thought we could do something special that day." He set a few files down on her desk, along with his phone. "What do you say?"

She leaned across her desk, ignoring her work for the moment. "I'd say that's a great idea." She motioned him forward and when he leaned in, she planted one right on his lips. "What did you have in mind?"

With a huge grin, he initiated the second kiss. "I guess you'll just have to wait and see, won't you?"

Reba sat back in her chair with a pouty face. "You're really not going to tell me?"

"It's going to be a surprise. I've been planning it for a few weeks now."

"You sure are a charmer."

He batted his eyelashes and pretended to fan himself, like a beauty queen. "Thank you, thank you." He laughed before sitting back in his seat as well. "You'll like it, though."

"Can I have a hint?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because then it wouldn't be a surprise! You can wait one week."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine."

"That's what I thought. You getting ready to go home?"

Reba nodded and let out a breath. "Yeah, finally. Today was pretty busy."

"That it was. Wanna walk out together?"

"Sure."

"Okay. Let me go grab my coat. I left it in the upstairs break room."

"What were you doing up there?"

"Nothing..." He winked at her and left the room, headed for the elevators.

Reba chuckled and shook her head as she shut her computer down. He was always making her smile. As she gathered up her own belongings, she heard a beeping noise. After checking to make sure her phone wasn't going off, she turned her attention to Daniel's. It was lying on the files he had brought in and laid on her desk. She looked up at the doorway and figured that he wasn't coming back for another couple of minutes. She let curiosity get the better of her as she unlocked his phone, opening the text message he had just received. And she told herself she shouldn't feel guilty. She had asked him to read text messages she had gotten aloud to her when she was busy with something. She told herself it was a normal thing couples did.

**I booked that restaurant on her birthday. You owe me big, man.**

Reba figured it was from one of his buddies. He had quite a few. And it also appeared to be about her, which she was thrilled about. Just as she was about to put the phone down, another message came in from the same number.

**You gonna get her something nice or are you going to keep taking the credit from her secret admirer?**

That sent up a red flag. It certainly was an odd thing to message someone.

That was when Daniel appeared in the doorway again, coat in hand.

"Got it. You ready to go?"

Reba looked up at him, his phone still sitting in her hand, text messaging app open.

"What's wrong?" He asked, noting the confused look on her face.

"What does this mean?" She shoved the phone into his hands and watched as he read the messages.

It took him a minute to respond, but when he did, he just shrugged and locked his phone, placing it in his pocket. "What's wrong with it?"

"What did that last text mean?"

"I don't know. It doesn't matter. Hey, do you want to stop off for dinner somewhere? I know this great-"

"Daniel."

He stopped speaking when she said his name so sternly. He looked up at her, her face red. Whether it was anger or embarrassment, he didn't know.

"What?"

"Just tell me what it means. It doesn't sound very good."

"You're not going to understand."

"Try me."

He sighed. "Look, when you told me that you loved those flowers you got, I decided to take the credit for it." When her eyes widened, he nodded and held a hand up, trying to stop her from speaking so he could explain himself. "And the only reason I did it was because I really liked you. I just didn't think you were the kind of woman who could be wooed by gifts."

"Wooed?"

"Yes, wooed. But I guess I was wrong, so while you kept getting flowers from whoever, I thought about what I could get you that would mean something to me. That's when I got you that perfume. But you kept getting these flowers from some random person and you seemed to be enjoying them, so I just let you think they were from me."

"So you lied?"

"Because I really liked you."

"But you lied."

"Because I really liked you. I really, _really_ liked you."

"So when you really like someone, you think it's a good idea to lie to them? All this time, I thought you were just so sweet and thoughtful and now I find out that it's all fake? That's not fair, Daniel."

"It's not fake. I truly like you and I am sweet and thoughtful. It's just complicated. Please try to understand where I'm coming from."

"Daniel, I trusted you with a lot of things."

"I understand that."

"Do you? Do you really get that the trust I had in you is pretty much dead and gone?"

"You're not going to forgive me?"

"I don't know. What you did was pretty low..."

"Just let me explain."

"You already did. I think I get it." She shoved past him and out of her office. She truly couldn't believe that he would deceive her like that, even if he did have good intentions.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Reba, how was work?"<p>

Reba slammed her front door, ignoring Barbra Jean's greeting and the people in her living room. The whole family was over for some reason, but she was in no mood to visit. She was still seething from what happened with Daniel moments earlier. She stomped right into the kitchen, listening to Cheyenne say, "What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know," Brock said. "But it doesn't look good. I'll go talk to her."

He made his way into the kitchen where he saw Reba slamming things around, getting ready to make dinner apparently.

"Reba..." He said slowly. "Reba?"

"I don't suggest talking to me right now," She said, not bothering to look at him.

"I gathered that, but maybe if you talked about what was bothering you-"

"Nope. I'll be fine. Just go back in the living room. Dinner will be ready in a little bit. I'm sure you're all just famished."

Brock reached out and took the bag of salad she was trying to rip open and set it on the seat beside him. He held her hands down to the counter and forced her to look up at him.

"What's wrong?"

"Daniel," She simply said.

"What did he do?"

"He lied to me."

"About what?"

"You know those flowers that he supposedly got me that you saw the other night?" When Brock nodded, Reba said, "Okay, well, that wasn't the first basket of flowers I've gotten. I've been getting them over a period of three months and I was under the impression Daniel was getting them for me. Every time I would thank him for them, he'd tell me it was no big deal and that I shouldn't have gotten him anything back and blah blah blah. As it turns out, he was just taking the credit for whoever has been getting me the flowers. He says it was because he really liked me and didn't want to say it wasn't him for fear I'd break up with him. It's just ridiculous."

By this time, Brock had released his hold on her hands. He just sighed.

"He's an idiot, Reba. He's young, he doesn't know how to have a relationship. Just move on, okay? Trust me."

"I know you're right, Brock, but I was really starting to care for him."

"I know. You have such a big heart. You care so easily. But just forget about it. You have your birthday coming up, your radiation therapy is almost at an end. There are several big things headed your way that you need to be happy about. Focus on that and leave his memory behind. It's the smart thing to do."

Reba sighed and nodded, looking up at him for the first time. "You're probably right, even though I hate to admit it." She smiled a bit. "How do you always seem to know what's right for me, but you always have trouble figuring things out for yourself?"

"Because I know you." He winked and she shook her head, trying to get the subject off what was making her so angry.

"Well," She finally said. "Why's everybody here? Some kind of big announcement?"

"Something like that. We have this surprise for you on your birthday. We all came over to tell you when and where."

"What is it?"

"I can't tell you. I had the idea, but Barbra Jean and Cheyenne put most of it together. They'd kill me if I told you what it was."

"Give me a clue."

"No! You do this every time. No clues, no guessing, no hints until the twelfth. In the mean time, why not figure out who that secret flower giver is."

Reba rolled her eyes. "Probably some creep that's stalking me." She began preparing salad again.

Brock chuckled. "Maybe, maybe not."


	20. Chapter 20

Cheyenne pulled into the parking lot of The Holiday Inn on the night of Reba's birthday. A week before, Brock had told her that she would ride to the hotel with Cheyenne where her surprise would be waiting. Both women were dressed up in very nice dresses and high-heeled shoes, much to Reba's disapproval. Reba had her hair fixed up, while Cheyenne wore hers down with her usual wave-y style. Reba had to admit though, she looked elegant and was very curious as to what her family could have put together for her.

"Are you excited?" Cheyenne asked her mom as they got out of the car and walked towards the entrance.

Reba adjusted her dress that hit just above her knees. "Yes, I just wish you would have let me pick out a longer dress. I don't feel right in this one."

"You look beautiful, Mom. Sometimes beauty hurts." She laughed, looking at her mom's little black dress. "You think this dress is comfortable?"

Reba glanced at her daughter's pale pink cocktail dress and shook her head. "It looks like you're being squeezed to death."

"But I look good."

"Touche..."

"Thank you. And it's really not all that short, trust me. It's very tasteful."

"Yeah, yeah."

Cheyenne nodded and opened the door for her mom. "Go on in. Ah! I'm so excited!"

The blonde bounced in after her mom and led the way down the hall, nodding at the desk clerk who was apparently expecting them. They arrived at some double doors which Cheyenne opened. Reba guessed they were in the hotel's conference room or something. It was a big space that was decorated with streamers and balloons. Music played from the stereos, tables were set up and the overhead lights were off, colored neon and strobe lights replacing them. The space was filled with people milling about, getting drinks from the bar and chatting with each other over the snacks that were served on a long buffet table.

"Cheyenne, what is all this?" Reba asked, having to raise her voice a bit to be heard.

"Your birthday party!" Cheyenne said as she let the doors close. "Surprise!"

Reba wasn't one for parties such as this one, but she appreciated the attention that her kids gave her to throw her a get together like this. Barbra Jean, Van, Jake, and Kyra soon walked up to her and Cheyenne and began wishing her a happy birthday, commenting on her dress and such.

"Is Brock here?" Reba asked after talking to a few of her friends that had been invited.

Barbra Jean, who had been tagging alongside Reba for a while, drink in hand, nodded. "He's around here somewhere. You know he came up with this whole shindig."

"Yeah, he mentioned that." Reba took a sip of her margarita. "Dang, this is good. I'm gonna have to take that bartender home with me. He's cute, too."

Barbra Jean didn't let Reba see the look she gave, knowing a boyfriend might not be necessary for her friend. She just ushered Reba away from the bar and over to where Brock was standing near the gift table.

"Look, there he is," Barbra Jean said very scripted like. "He looks like he's looking for you."

Reba stared at Brock looking at his watch and glancing around the room. "No, he doesn't."

"Yeah, he is. He told me. Go." Barbra Jean pushed Reba towards Brock and casually walked away.

"Hey," Brock said when he saw Reba. "How do you like your party? Were you surprised?"

"I was. And I really appreciate you guys doing this for me. It was very sweet."

"Are you having fun?"

"Yeah! I got to catch up with a few of my buddies I hadn't talked to in a while."

"That's great."

"How'd you even get this room rented? It looks like it was pretty expensive."

"Don't ask me. Ask Cheyenne and Barbra Jean. They organized all that. I just footed the bill."

Reba laughed. "Well, it was very sweet of you."

"You're welcome." He gestured towards the gift table behind him. "Did you get a load of this? All those presents are for you."

Reba looked at the array of gift boxes and bags with her name on the tags and shook her head. "There's so many. Do I have to open these in front of everybody?"

Brock chuckled. "Not unless you're turning six and we have to sing the Birthday Song. You can just take them home and open them there. But there is one present you can open now."

Reba rubbed her hands together enthusiastically. "Oooh, I hope it's a good one."

Brock reached beyond the gifts to the back of the pile and pulled out a very familiar looking basket of tulips. "Here ya go."

Reba stared at the flowers as Brock set them in front of all the other gifts. "Those are the same flowers I've been getting from whoever. Are they here?"

Brock nodded. "Yep."

"Good. I'm very curious as to who they heck they are." She admired the tulips, smelling them and shaking her head. "How'd they know tulips were my favorite?"

"Well, when you've been best friends with someone for twenty-seven years, you start to pick up on things like that."

Reba looked up. "What?"

"I've been sending you the flowers."

"You?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Brock laughed a bit. "Well, when we had our little fling, it reminded me how much I missed being with you. Then you ended that and I was pretty crushed. I tried to move on and rebuild my relationship with Barbra Jean but I couldn't. Then she told me about you having breast cancer. I've never been more terrified in that moment where she told me all about it. I was so afraid of losing you permanently. I didn't even want to think about it. So, I started sending you flowers, hoping they'd make you happy. And my plan worked. You fell in love with the person who was sending you the flowers. The only problem was it was the wrong guy. You told me how you thought they were from Daniel and that kind of hurt me, but it also made me want to work at it harder. So I did and you finally broke up with him. The truth will always come out, as he found out a few days ago. I guess that's really it. Your turn to talk."

He smiled as he waited for a response, but it wasn't the one he expected.

"You sent me flowers out of pity?"

"What? No. I sent them to make you happy, to make you smile."

"But you just said you sent them right after you found out about the cancer."

"Yes, because you needed it most then. No matter who you thought they were from, you deserved to smile."

"That's pity!"

"No, it's not. Reba, don't make this something it's not because you're afraid to love me again."

"That's another thing. What in the _world_ would make you think that we could work again? We divorced for a reason."

"We've grown a lot and we've learned a lot. We're not the same people we were seven years ago, but we're all the same, too. You know what I mean?"

"No. I think this is all just a load of bull."

She turned on her heel and began walking towards the double doors her and Cheyenne had walked through earlier. She knew Brock was following her, so she began to walk faster, finally reaching the doors, pushing them open and letting them close only to hear Brock open them a second later.

"Reba!" He called after her as she headed for the main doors to the parking lot. "Reba!" He finally caught up to her after she walked outside. He grabbed her by the arm to stop her from going any farther.

"Let go!" She jerked her arm away.

"Why are you making this so hard?"

"How in the world could you possibly think that I'd want to give us another try? All you ever do is ruin everything good I have."

"That's not true."

"You ruined my relationship with Rhett and with Daniel."

"I didn't 'ruin' those things you called relationships. Anything I did was in your best interest."

"You put ideas in my head and forced me to break up with Rhett then you let me believe Daniel sent me those flowers. How many times did I tell you to butt out in each of those relationships?"

"Stop making all these damn excuses. Ever stop and think that maybe the reason it didn't work out with those other guys was because there's someone better waiting on you? Everybody knows that we're supposed to be together. The kids think so, hell even Barbra Jean think so."

"Then why did you ruin what we used to have?" She let the tears that had been welling up in her eyes fall as she asked that question.

Brock sighed, knowing she'd want to know eventually. He walked a few steps away and sat down under the awning. "I was stupid back then, Reba. That's the only excuse I have."

Reba stomped over to him. "And it's a lousy excuse! How am I supposed to know that you won't do that again?"

"What are you saying?" He looked up at her. "Are you gonna give me the chance to prove it to you?"

"That's not what I said! You give me no reason to trust you!"

He stood up, grabbing her hands with his own. "I know I don't, but you have to trust me. I swear I would never make the same mistakes again. I didn't send those flowers out of pity. I sent them because I love you. If I didn't, I wouldn't have bothered."

Reba let him wipe the tears streaming down her cheeks. "How did this even happen?" She whispered.

"What?"

"Us."

"Because things that are meant to be always find a way to happen. You know that. We learned than nearly thirty years ago."

Reba looked up at him. "This is so cheesy."

Brock chuckled. "Right out of a sappy movie."

Reba managed to give him a small smile. "Say I did love you..."

"Mm-hmm..." Brock wrapped his arms around her, letting her talk.

"Would you promise to talk to me this time?"

"Every day. About everything."

"Would you let me watch the news channel I like at ten o'clock?"

"Even though I hate the guy who does the sports."

"Will you tell me you love me before bed?"

"I'll tell you so many times, you'll tell me to shut up."

She leaned in to kiss him, smiling as he kissed her back. "You passed the test," She whispered.

"What test?" He questioned, pulling away.

"The one where I get raging mad and see how you react."

Brock tilted his head to the side. "You mean that was all an act?"

"Maybe." She ran her fingers through his hair with a sideways smile on her face. "I just had to know if you mean what you said."

"I did. I meant every word."

"I know that now." She sighed. "You really think this is crazy enough to work?"

"I know it'll work." He gave her another kiss and she let him slow dance with her in the parking lot of The Holiday Inn under the stars. After a few minutes of silence, Reba looked up at him.

"I've been looking for it for awhile, but this sure is my kind of wonderful."

"Right back atcha, Red. Right back atcha."

* * *

><p><strong>Epilogue will be up here directly. (:<strong>


	21. Chapter 21

Spring nights were always beautiful in Houston. They were even more beautiful out on the front porch, sitting in the swing. Reba sat next to Brock in that swing, swaying with the light breeze that blew around them. He lovingly had his arm around her, wondering why it took so long for them to get to this moment.

"Beautiful night," Reba said suddenly.

"It is," Brock responded.

Reba laid her head on his shoulder, sighing deeply. "I could fall asleep like this."

Chuckling, Brock leaned his head on hers. "Me, too. But we'd be waking up with pretty bad aches in our necks if we did that."

"More of an excuse for me to give you a neck rub."

"You don't need an excuse for that. If you want to give me a neck rub, just do it. I promise I won't complain."

"Oh, I know you wouldn't."

"In fact, you can rub anything on me and I'd be fine with it."

Reba slapped his leg. "Get your mind out of the gutter."

"But it has more fun in the gutter."

Reba lifted her head, causing Brock to do the same. "I never really realized how much I missed doing this."

"Doing what?"

"Just sitting with you, talking about whatever. We haven't done this since we were first married."

"Yeah, it's been awhile."

"We should do this more often. I need more of you in my day." She grinned and he had to laugh.

"Six months ago, you were trying everything to get rid of me. My, how the tables have turned."

"Oh, hush." She placed her legs over his knees, looking up at him. "Thank you."

He glanced at her. "For what?"

"Fighting for me."

He smiled. "You're welcome." He kissed the top of her head.

"And I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?"

"For not fighting for you seven years ago. I should have."

He shook his head. "I didn't deserve to have you fight for me."

"I still should have."

"That's over and done with. Just forget about that. We're here now. We're together. That's all that matters."

She placed her hand on his thigh. "I guess so. But you know, it's really frustrating."

"What is?"

"I'm doing everything I can to get you to take me upstairs and have your way with me without coming right out and saying it and you're just not having it."

"Maybe I'm teasing you."

She looked up at him. "You're mean..."

"I know, but you started it." He gave her a kiss, feeling her smile against his lips. "You still want to go upstairs?"

She pulled away. "Duh."

"You know you'll have to surrender to me completely, right?"

"Wouldn't have it any other way."

He stood, holding her hand as she did as well. "How about you call me Captain Surrender when we...ya know from now on?"

"Hm...how about I don't and say I did?"

"I can give you a nickname."

"I'm not in the least bit interested in what you would want to call me, Brock."

"It's nothing dirty."

"I'm sure it's not."

"I just want to call you my wife."

Reba turned and looked at him. "I'm already your wife, you monkey's butt."

He shrugged, grabbing her hands in his own before they went inside the house. He lifted her left hand and admired the diamond that occupied her ring finger. "Whooowee. Somebody must love you a lot to buy you a rock that big, huh?"

She grinned. "He does love me." She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his.

"Do you love him?"

"So much." She buried her head in his shoulder and he swayed them from side to side for a moment.

"Never in a million years would I have dreamed up something this wonderful," He told her. "And that may sound cheesy or whatever, but it's true." He sighed. "Our life would make a nice movie plot."

Reba laughed, pulling back to look at him. "It would, but I wouldn't change a thing. This crazy journey we've been on sure hasn't been ideal, but it's been a trip."

"And quite a wonderful one, I might add."

"Wonderful? I wouldn't call it that."

"Some kind of wonderful, at least."

Reba smiled and opened the door, letting her husband trail inside after her. After everything they had been through, she could see how he viewed their life as wonderful. It might not have been everybody's idea of wonderful, but it was their kind. And that was the only kind that mattered.

**The End**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Thank you so much for reading and reviewing, you guys! Every time I would get an email and it would be a review, it would really make my day. I hope you've enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it and sharing it with you! I hope the ending didn't disappoint. I'm currently working on another fanfic, so don't worry. Another will be up soon. ;D Thanks again. (:<strong>_


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